BUBONIDJE — THE OWLS. 409 



Syrnium nebulosum (Foist.) 



BASBDD OWL. 



Popular synonym. Hoot Owl. 



Strix nehulosa Fokst. Phil. Trans. Ixii. 1772. 386, 424.-^11-3. Am. Orn. Iv. 1S12,61, pi. 33, 

 flg. 2.— NuTT. Man. 1,1832,133,— AuD. Orn. Biog. i. 1832.242; v, 1839, 386, pi. 46.-RiiiGW. 

 Norn. N. Am. B. 1881.No. 397.— CouES. 2<i Check List, 1882, No, 476. 



Syrnium nehulosum Boie. 1828.— Aud. Synop. 1839. 27; B. Am. 1.1840,132, pi. 36.— Cass. 

 in Baird's B. N. Am. 1858. 56.— Baikd. Cat. N. Am. B. 1859,No.54.— CouEs. Key, 1872, 

 204; Check List. 1873, No. 323; B.N. W. 1874, 308 (b. nebulosum).— B. B. & R. Hist. N. 

 Am. B. iii, 1874, 29 (var. nebulosum). 



Hab. Eastern North America, north to Hudson's Bay, south to Georgia and eastern 

 Texas, west to the edge of the Great Plains. (Replaced in Florida by S. nebulosum 

 alleni, a race with perfectly naked toes and somewhat difl'erent coloration.) 



Sp. Chak. Adult. Head, neck, breast, back, scapulars, and rump with broad regu- 

 lar transverse bars of oehraceous white and deep umber-brown, the latter color always 

 terminal; on the upper surface the brown somewhat exceeds the whitish in width, but 

 on the neck and breast the white rather predominates. The lower third of the breast is 

 somewhat differently marked from the upper portion, the brown bars being connected 

 along the shafts of the feathers, throwing the white into pairs of spots on opposite webs. 

 Each feather of the abdomen, sides, flanks, and lower tail-coverts has abroad median 

 longitudinal stripe of brown somewhat deeper in tint than the transverse bars on the 

 upper parts; the anal region is plain, more oehraceous, white; the legs have numerous, 

 but rather faint, transverse spots of brown. Ground-color of the wings and tail brown, 

 like the bars of the back; middle and secondary wing-coverts with roundish transverse 

 spots of nearly pure white on lower webs; lesser coverts plain rich brown; secondaries 

 crossed by six bands of pale grayish brown, passing into paler on the edge of each 

 feather: primary coverts with four bands of d.arker oehraceous brown; primaries with 

 transverse series of (juadrate p.ale brown spots on the outer webs (growing deeper in 

 tint on inner quills); on the longest are about eight. Tail, like the wings, crossed with 

 six or seven sharply defined bands of pale brown, the last terminal. Face grayish white 

 with concentric semicircular bars of brown; eyebrows and lores with black shafts: a 

 narrow crescent of black against anterior angle of the eye. Facial circle of blackish 

 brown and creamy white bars, the former prevailing along the anterior edge, the latter 

 more distinct posteriorly, and prevailing across the neck in front, where the brown 

 forms disconnected transverse spots. Bill deep wax- or dull chrome-yellow: iris brown- 

 ish black, the pupil appearing dull blue by contrast; seutellae of toes dull wax-yellow or 

 grayish yellow; soles of toes deep dull chroma-yellow: claws black, or dark horn-color 

 tipped with black. 



Total length, 19.50-22.00 inches; extent, .44-. 48; wing, 13.00-15.00; tail, about 9.00-10.00. 



This is by far the most numerous species of owl in wooded por- 

 tions of the State. It is familiarly known as the "Hoot Owl" on 

 account of its well-known loud hooting call, generally interpreted as 

 "who — %iho, ivlio, who — who, who, ivho, ar-r-r-r-e, you?" although some- 

 times translated as "who cooks for you all?" This call is far louder 

 than the deeper bass hooting of the Great Horned Owl, and is also 

 more varied. Frequently it is preceded by a very loud, "blood- 

 curdling" shriek, causing the hair of the uninitiated to rise on his 



