CLASS II. AVES: ORDER 1. RAPTORES, 



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THE GREAT SHORT-EARED OWL. 



9enus SYRNIUM : Symium. — This term means Birds of Night, and the genus includes sev- 

 eral species, called Chats-Huant or Hooting-Cats by the French. 



The HuLOTTE or Wood-Owl, S. aluco, is somewhat larger than the common European owl, 

 but has similar manners and habits. It is found in the great forests of Europe, where it feeds on 

 squirrels, bats, mice, &c. 



The Barred Owl, Canada Owl, or Clouded Owl, S. nebulosum, is very common in the 

 United States, especially about the region of Pennsylvania. It is sixteen or seventeen inches 

 long, of a pale brown above, marked with transverse spots of white ; head large, and mottled with 

 brown and white ; the under parts streaked with brown on a yellowish ground. It feeds on mice 

 and small quadrupeds, though it occasionally catches a fowl or a young rabbit. It is frequently 

 seen flying by day, and is then harassed by various kinds of birds. Its hoot of Waugh! Waughl 

 at night, in the thick forests, is doleful in the extreme. 



The OuRAL Owl, *S'. Uralense, is a large species, twenty-one inches long, and inhabits the 

 north of Europe and Asia. 



The Great Gray Owl, or Cinereous Owl, S. cinereum, is a large species, found in the 

 northern parts of both continents ; its upper parts are smoky brown, nearly every feather more 

 or less mottled with ashy-white; under parts smoky brown, also mottled with ashy-white. The 

 length is twenty-six inches. It is the largest species of owl known in the United States. It is 

 found rarely in New England, breeds in Canada, Wisconsin, and Oregon, and is met with all 

 across the continent farther north. 



The Pagoda Owl, S.'pagodarum, is an East India species, seventeen inches long, vulgarly 

 called Oame-Kolan. 



Genus NYCTALE : Nyctale. — This, whose name signifies Lovers of darkness, includes a single 

 American species, Tengmalm's Owl, N. Tengmalmi, ten and a half inches long, and found in the 

 northern parts of our continent. 



The WnfTE-FRONTED Owl or Kibtland's Owl, N. albifrons, resembles the Acadian Owl, 

 and has been regarded by some as identical with it. It is eight inches long, and is found in 

 Canada. 



