194 



ACCIPJTRKK. 



ALUCO FLA.MMEUS (LmiisBus*). 



THE BARN-OWL. 



Strix flammea. 



ALUCO, Fleming^. Beak straight at the base, decurved only towards the 

 point ; cutting margin of the upper mandible nearly straight, under mandible 

 notched. Nostrils oval, oblique. Facial disk large and complete, narrowing 

 rapidly below the eyes towards the beak. Auditory opening square, large, and 

 furnished with a large and nearly rectangular operculum, stiffened with the shafts 

 of small feathers. Wings long and ample ; the first and third quills equal and 

 nearly as long as the second, which is the longest. Tail shortish. Legs long and 

 slender, clothed with downy feathers to the origin of the toes, which are only 

 furnished on the upper surface with a few bristle-like feathers ; hind toe reversible ; 

 claws long, and grooved underneath, that of the middle toe serrated on the inner 

 edge. Head smooth, not furnished with tufts. 



* Strix flammea, Linnseus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 183 (1766). 

 t Philosophy of Zoology, ii. p. 236 (1822). 



