STRIGIN^E. BUBO. ULULA. 63 



pylorus without valvular prominences ; intestine of moderate 

 length, rather wide ; cceca large, oblong, narrowed at the 

 base ; cloaca very large, globular. Nostrils roundish-ellip- 

 tical. Eyes extremely large, fixed, oblique. Conch simple, 

 elliptical, from a third to half the height of the skull. Head 

 very large, broad ; neck short ; body stout, much narrowed 

 behind. Legs rather short, strong ; tarsus short, closely 

 feathered ; toes short, strong, feathered, with two terminal 

 scutella ; claws long, well curved, tapering, very acute. 

 Plumage soft and very full ; facial disks incomplete ; ruff 

 incomplete and inconspicuous ; wings long, very broad, much 

 rounded, third quill longest ; outer three quills sinuate on 

 the inner web ; tail of moderate length, broad, rounded. 



The birds of this genus are among the largest of the 

 family. They prey on quadrupeds and birds, are not entirely 

 nocturnal, reside in wooded regions, and nestle on rocks, 

 trees, or the ground. 



25. BUBO MAXIMUS. GREAT EAGLE OWL. 



Tufts of about eighteen feathers, projecting more than two 

 inches beyond the plumage of the head ; upper parts varie- 

 gated with dark brown and light reddish-yellow ; lower parts 

 of the latter colour, with longitudinal blackish-brown spots 

 and streaks, and numerous transverse undulating lines ; facial 

 disks greyish-brown, obscurely barred ; throat with a patch of 

 white ; bill and claws greyish-blue at the base, black toward 

 the end. 



Male, 24, 58, 19, 2i, 2/y, 2 T \, 1 T V Female, 26, 61. 



Generally distributed in the wilder parts of Europe. In- 

 dividuals have been obtained in several districts of England ; 

 but it does not now breed in any part of Britain. 



Great-Horned Owl. Great-Eared Owl. Great Owl. 



Strix Bubo, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 131. Strix Bubo, Temm. 

 Man. d'Ornith, i. 100. Bubo maximus, Great Eagle-Owl, 

 MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, iii. 428. 



GENUS XV. ULULA. HOOTING-OWL. 



Bill short, strong, compressed toward the end ; upper 

 mandible with the dorsal line decurved from the base, the 

 tip trigonal, decurved, acute ; lower mandible with the angle 

 wide, the dorsal line convex, the edges with a sinus close to 



