524 The Roller-like Birds 



Horned Owl (B. v. clachistus), which Brewster describes as being similar to the 

 dusky form (saturatus] , but very much smaller. It is common everywhere from 

 the coast to the top of the highest mountains. 



European Eagle Owl. Of the Old World species we may mention the so- 

 called Eagle Owl (B. bubo), a bird twenty-six inches or more in length, which is 

 found throughout Europe generally, from the Arctic to the Mediterranean. The 

 plumage is reddish ochreous or reddish brown above, marked and mottled with 

 black, and brownish ochreous barred with black below. "It is one of the bold- 

 est of European birds of prey," says Dresser, "and very destructive to game, but 

 it does not disdain rats, mice, hares, rabbits, Crows, etc. It frequents forests 

 and rocky localities and is nocturnal in its habits, though not dazed by the sun- 

 light when disturbed by day. Its cry is a loud, deep hee, hee, modulated in 

 various ways. It nests in the rocks, on the ground, or in the forests will utilize the 

 nest of one of the larger birds of prey." The eggs, from two to three or four in 

 number, are deposited from March to May, according to latitude. East of the 

 Ural Mountains the place is taken by a very light colored form (B. sibiricus) and 

 in the deserts of southwestern Siberia, Tibet, and the Himalayas by a smaller, 

 more barred form (B. turcomanus). 



Rock Eagle Owls. The Indian peninsula is the home of the Rock Eagle 

 Owl (B. bengalensis] , which is distinguished from those just mentioned by having 

 the toes bare. It frequents rocky hills and ravines, alluvial cliffs and brushwood, 

 besides rivers and streams, and subsists on rats, mice, birds, lizards, snakes, 

 crabs, etc. Its eggs, two to four in number, are laid on a rocky ledge, in a cave, 

 or on the ground. The only Japanese species is the Japanese Eagle Owl (B. 

 Uakistoni] [This bird I consider to represent a very distinct genus and is the 

 most powerful of all Owls, bearing to others the same relation that the Harpy 

 does to other Eagles. R. R.], while a paler and whiter race of this (B. dcer- 

 riesi] is found in eastern Siberia, and a larger, duller-colored species (B. coro- 

 mandus] in India and China. 



African Eagle Owls. The African continent is especially rich in these great 

 Owls, not less than ten forms of Bubo being known, as well as two or three that 

 have been separated under the name of Huhua, on the ground that the young 

 have a perfectly distinct plumage, moulting from the immature into the adult 

 garb. Two species of this latter genus are found in the Oriental region, the large 

 Forest Eagle Owl (H. nipalensis'), a shy, forest-haunting bird, and the Malay 

 Eagle Owl (H. orientalis), of which nothing is known regarding its habits or 

 modification. 



Snowy Owl. Passing over an unimportant genus confined to the Philippine 

 Islands, we come to the splendid Snowy Owl (Nyctea nyctea), the sole representa- 

 tive of its genus, which is distinguished at once by its large size and snowy 

 plumage, fittingly emblematic of its Arctic home. It has a comparatively 

 small head, without obvious ear-tufts, while the loral feathers are extremely 

 long and almost conceal the bill, and the claws are nearly hidden by the dense, 

 hair-like feathers covering the toes. The male, which is from twenty to twenty- 

 three inches long, is pure white, sometimes almost immaculate, but usually 



