154 



ACCIPITRES. 



STRIGIftffl 



STRIGTD^E. 



NYCTALA TENGMALMI (J. F. Ghnelin*). 

 TENGMALM'S OWL. 



Noctua Tengmalmi. 



NYCTALA, C. L. Brehm^. Bill short, decurved from the base; cere rudimen- 

 tary ; nostrils nearly circular; under mandible notched. Ears large, asymmetrical, 

 and furnished in front with a well-developed operculum. Facial disk large and 

 nearly complete. Wings long, rounded. Tail short. Legs and toes thickly 

 feathered. Head large, the asymmetry of the aural region extending to the 

 skull. 



THIS prettily-marked Owl was, in 1783, first clearly dis- 

 tinguished from other species by Tengmalm, a Swedish Orni- 

 thologist, in honour of whom it was named by Johann 

 Friedrich Gmelin. 



Though similar in size and general appearance to the 

 Little Owl to be presently described, it can at once be re- 

 cognized by the more thick and downy character of the 

 plumage, and by the length and abundance of the feathers 



* Strix tengmalmi, J. F. Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 291 (1788). 

 t Isis, 1828, p. 1271. 



