476 COCO YZUSSTR1X 



grey ; bill black, but bluish at the base below ; Ings light plumbeous ; 

 iris brown, and round the eve a dull vermilion naked skin. Culmen 0'92, 

 wing 5'65, tail 6'5, tarsus 0'95 inch. Sexes alike. 



Hal}. Eastern North America, west to the Rocky Mountains, 

 north to Labrador and Manitoba, south in winter to the West 

 Indies, Central America, and South America to Colombia. Has 

 occurred once in Ireland and once in Italy. 



In habits and food it resembles C. americanus from which it 

 is readily distinguishable by its black bill, but it is said to be 

 less shy and wary than that bird. It builds its own nest and 

 incubates its own eggs, but the nest is better constructed and 

 finished than that of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and is placed, not 

 on a tree, but on a bush usually two or three feet above the 

 ground. The eggs, 3 to 6 in number, are deposited at irregular 

 intervals, are rather smaller and darker than those of C. ameri- 

 canus, sometimes greener in tinge, usually rather smoother in 

 texture and with a faint gloss, in size averaging I'lO by 0'85. 



STBIX, Linn., 1766. 



679. TAWNY OWL. 



STRIX STRIDULA 



Strix str'uhda, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 153 (1766) ; Newton, i. p. 146 ; 

 S. aluco, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 132 ; Naum. i. p. 473, Taf. 46, 47, 

 fig. 1 ; Hewitson, i. p. 63, pi. xviii. fig. 2 ; (Gould), B. of. E. i. 

 pi. 47 ; (id.) B. of. Gt, Brit. i. pi. 24 ; (Dresser), v. p. 271, pi. 306 ; 

 (Sharpe), Cat. B. Br. Mus. ii. p. 247 ; (Saunders), p. 297 ; (Lilford), 

 i. p. 87, pis. 41, 42. 



Cliouettc-huloltc, French; Coruja do mato, Portug. ; Carabo r 

 Span. ; Allocco, Ital. ; Waldkauz, Germ. ; Boschuil, Dutch ; 

 Katugle, Norvv. and Dan. ; Kattuggla, Swed. ; Kissapullo, Finn. ;. 

 Obifaiovennaya-Sova, Russ. ; Bu-ru-ru, Arab. ; Lu-Lual, Moor. 



{J ad. (England). Crown, neck, and upper parts generally ashy grey,, 

 mottled with two shades of brown ; scapulars and larger wing- 

 coverts with a large patch of white on the outer web ; primaries barred 

 with dull white and dark brown ; middle tail-feathers vermiculated and 

 the rest broadly barred with dull blackish brown ; no ear tui'ts ; the facial 

 disk greyish white with a dark brown marginal line ; under parts greyish 

 white streaked with blackish brown ; legs feathered down to the claws, 

 white slightly marked with brown ; bill light horn becoming yellow at the 

 tip ; iris blue-black ; edge of the eyelid pinkish. Culmen 1'5, wing 10'9, 

 tail 7*2, tarsus 2*0 inch. The female differs only in being rather larger in 

 size. 



