24 NEW- YORK FAUNA — BIRDS. 



GENUS BUBO. Cuvier. 



Head tufted. Aperture of the ears elliptical, and without an operculum. Bill short, broader 

 than high. Facial disk complete. First quill short ; the fourth longest. Tail moderate, 

 rounded. Nocturnal. 



THE GREAT HORNED OWL. 



Bubo virginiantjs. 



PLATE X. FIG. 22 (Female). 



(STATE COLLECTION.) 



Strix virginiana. Gmelin. 



Great Horned Owl. WiLS. Orn. Vol. 6, p. 52, pi. 50, fig. 1. 



B. (Ulula) virginiana. Bonap. Ann. Lye. N. York, Vol. 2, p. 37. 



Great Horned Owl. Audubon, folio, pi. 61 ; Ornith. Biog. Vol. 1, p. 313; Vol. 5, p. 393. Nottall, Man. 



Ornithol. Vol. 1, p. 124, figures. Richardson, F. B. A. Vol. 2, p. 82. Aud. B. of A. 



Vol. 1, p. 143, pi. 39 (male and female). 

 Bubo virginianus. Gikaud, Birds of Long Island, p. 27. 



Characteristics. Very large. Mottled. Quills and tail-feathers banded with black. Tufts 

 large. Facial disk with concentric circles. Length, two feet. 



Description. Bill stout, curved from the base ; its cutting margin sinuous. Facial disk 

 not a regular circle. Tail slightly rounded, 3-4 inches longer than the tips of the folded 

 wings. Tufts large, and of 10- 12 feathers. 



Color. Above, a general mottled appearance, produced by the intermixture of grey, greyish 

 white, rufous, brown and brownish black. Tufts reddish-brown on their interiors. Facial 

 disk reddish, with an external circle, more or less complete, of blackish. Chin and breast 

 white, with an obscure light or rufous collar encircling the neck. Dusky interrupted trans- 

 verse bars on the breast and leg- feathers. 



Length, 20 • - 25 • 0. Alar extent, 56-0-60 '0. 



This is one of the largest of our Owls, and its aspect and dismal tones struck terror into 

 the breasts of our early colonists. It is often called the Cat Owl, and builds in trees, laying 

 3-4 white unspotted eggs. It preys on the larger birds, and upon dead fish cast upon the 

 shore, and has a peculiar attachment to the inhabitants of the poultry yard. Found through- 

 out the continent, and has been observed as far north as the 68th degree. Peculiar to 

 America. 



