274 NYCTALE ACAD1CA. 







The Mottled Owls are not migratory, for their thick plumage forms an ample protec- 

 tion against the severe cold of even the Northern winters and, unlike the other Owls, they 

 do not wander much, each pair spending their lives in a particular locality. 



GENUS IT. NYCTALE. THE SMALL OWLS. 



GEN. Cn. The sternum is only sliyhlly arched, with a nearly straight keel which does not e'/ual in heiyht one half the 

 width of the sternum. Outer marginal indentations, narrower than the inner. Coracoids, not very long, biiny quid, rqual 

 in length to the top of Ihn keel, but are not set on at a wide anyle. Furcula, not well developed, for it is not ossified its entire 

 lenyth. Ear tufts, present but not well developed. Tail, short, but little longer than one half the length of the wmys which 

 are considerably elongated. 



Members of this genus are quite small but the plumage is long and downy. The eyes are not large and are yellow in 

 color. The sterno-t'rachealis is thin, and there *is a slender bronchialis, but no other laryngeal muscles. As in other 

 Owls, the tympaniform membrane is present and although there is a thin os tranversale it does not support a semiluniir 

 membrane. The oesophagus is nearly straight, being a little wider in the middle, and opens into a qurte large provrntric- 

 ulus with simple, oval glands arranged in a wide zonular band which measure* '50, in Acadica, from which this and the fol- 

 lowing dimensions are taken. The stomach is of medium size, somewhat cuboid in form, with thin, but soft, walls. The 

 fold of the duodenum is long, inclosing a wide pancreas which, however, only extends half its length. The coeca are not vn-y 

 long, 1-28 in length, small near the intestine, measuring '05 in diameter, with the blind ends dilated into balloon-shaped 

 sacs, -15 in diameter. The spleen is an elliptical body lying directly on the proventriculus. The left lobe of the liyer is a 

 little larger than the right. There are two species within our limits. 



NYCTALE ACADICA. 

 Acadian Owl. 



Nyclale Acadica GM., Syst. Nat.. I; 1788, 296. 

 Nyctale albifron's SHAWS, Nat. Misc. V.; 1794. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sp. CH. Form, short and compact. Size, small. Sternum, not stout. The marginal indentations are quite deep. 

 Tongue, rather thick and fleshy, horny at the tip which is rounded and slightly bifid. Ear tufts, very short. Bill and 

 claws, not long, the former is stout but the latter are slender. 



COLOR. Adult. Above, including upper wing and tail coverts, uniform reddish-brown with a narrow central line of 

 yellowish-white on the feathers of the top of the head and on sides of face. One half of the outer feathers of the seapula- 

 ries, forming lines, spots on wing coverts and basal portion of feathers back of neck, white. Wings, reddish-brown, spot- 

 ted on the outer and inner webs of primaries and on the outer webs of secondaries with white. Tail, reddish-brown with 

 each feather narrowly tipped with white and marked on both webs with three pairs of white spots. Face, dusky, yellowish 

 and white, mixed, the former color predominating around the eye and the latter on the sides of the bill and in a line to the 

 ear tufts, which are reddish-brown streaked with yellowish. Beneath, white, with each feather, excepting on the chin 

 and abdomen, centrally lined with pale, reddish-brown, but much more widely on the breast. Under wing coverts, pale, red- 

 dish-brown. Under tail coverts, white, with central stripes of reddish-brown. Tibia and tarsus, pale reddish-brown, un- 

 spotted. 



Young. With the face, forehead and disk, very nearly white and color above much redder, otherwise similar to the 

 adult. 



Young of the year. Above of the same color as the young, but with no traces of white, excepting that the scapularies 

 show the peculiar markings which are, however of a pale yellowish. Forehead, throat, neck, and breast, colored like the 

 back. Remainder of under parts, including under tail coverts, pale reddish-brown. Under wing coverts, pale rose color. 

 Wings, tail, tibia, and tarsus, as in the adult. 



Nestlings. Are, at first, covered with a reddish down, but gradually assume the young plumage. Iris and soles of 

 feet, yellow, claws, dark-brown, cere, greenish, in all stages. Sexes, similar in color. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Specimens of the same age and sex are quite uniform in coloration. The plumage of the young of the year is quite sin- 

 gular and is the albifons of authors, but it can readily be distinguished by the color of the wing and tail which are always 

 similar to those of the adult. Readily known, in the adult stage, from the succeeding species by the reddish-brown color, 

 and in all stages, by the three bars of spots on the tail, and form all others, by the small size, absence of any prominent ear 

 tufts, together with the color as described. Distributed, as a constant resident, throughout North America to the Arctic 

 Circle. 



