BUBONID^ — THE OWLS. 



419 



Hab. Eastern North Amerioa. west to edge of Groat Plains, south through eastern 

 Mexico to Costa Rica. 



8p. Chab. Adult male (No. 12, 057, Philadelphia: C. Drexler). Bases of all the feathers 

 yellowish rufous, this partially exposed on the head above and nape, along the scapulars 

 on the rump, and sides of the breast. On the upper surface this is overlaid by a rather 

 coarse transverse mottling of brownish black upon a white ground, the former rather 

 predominating, particularly on the head and neck, where it forms broad ragged longitu- 

 dinal stripes (almost obliterating the transverse bars), becoming prevalent, or blended 

 anteriorly. The lowermost scapulars, and some of the lower feathers of the middle and 

 secondary wing-coverts, with inconspicuous transverse spots of white. On the second- 

 aries the mottling is finer, giving a grayish aspect, and crossed with eight sharply de- 

 fined, but inconspicuous, bands of mottled dusky; primary coverts with the ground 

 color very dark, and crossed with three or four bands of plain blackish, the last terminal 

 though fainter than the rest; ground-color of the primaries more yellowish, the mot- 

 tling more delicate; they are crossed by nine transverse series of quadrate dusky spots. 

 The ground-color of the tail is pale ochraeeous (transversely mottled with dusky), be- 

 coming white at the tip, crossed by seven bands of mottled blackish, these about equal- 

 ing the light bands in width; on the middle feathers the bands are broken and confused 

 running obliquely, or in places longitudinally. Outer webs of ear- tufts pure black, inner 

 webs almost wholly ochraeeous; eyebrows and lores white, the feathers with black 

 shafts; face dingy rufous; eye very narrowly encircled with whitish; a crescent of black 

 bordering the upper eyelid, and confluent with the black of the ear-tufts. Facial circle 

 continuous black, except across the f orenock ; chin, throat and jugulum pure immaculate 

 white, to the roots of the feathers. Beneath, white prevails, but the yellowish rufous is 

 prevalent on the sides of the breast, and shows as the base color wherever the feathers are 

 disarranged. The sides of the breast, sides, and flanks have numerous sharply defined 

 narrow transverse bars of brownish black ; anteriorly these are finer and more ragged, 

 coalescing so as to form conspicuous, somewhat longitudinal, black spots. On the 

 lower tail-coverts the bars are distant, though not less sharply defined. The abdomen, 

 medially, is scarcely maculate white. Legs and toes plain ochraeeous white. 



Wing formula, 2,3-4-1.5. Wing, 14.50; tall, 8.20; oulmen, 1,10; tarsus. 2.00; middle 

 toe. 2. 00. 



i^emaie (No. 12, 065, Maryland: E. J. Pollard): General appearance same as the male. 

 Black blotches on head, above, and nape less conspicuous, the surface being mottled 

 like the back, etc.; primary coverts with three well-defined narrow pure black bands; 

 primaries with only six bauds, these broader than in the male; secondaries with only 

 five bands; tail with but six dark bands, these very much narrower than the light ones. 

 TibiiB and tarsi with sparse transverse bars of dusky. 



Wing formula. 3.2.4-1=5. Wing, 16.00; tail. 9.00; culmen. 1.20; tarsus. 2.20; middle 

 toe. 2.10. 



Young (No. 12.062. Washington. D. C. May 20.1859: C. Drexler): Wings and tail as in 

 adult. Downy plumage of head and body ochraeeous, with detached, rather distinct, 

 transverse bars of dusky. 



Although much less numerous than the Barred Owl, this power- 

 ful and destructive species is much more plentiful than the farmer 

 or poultry raiser desires. As Dr. Brewer truly remarks {Hist. N. 

 . Am. B. Vol. III., p. 68), "It is one of the most destructive of the 

 depredators upon the poultry-yard, far surpassing in this respect 

 any of our hawks. All its mischief is done at night, when it is 

 almost impossible to detect and punish it. Whole plantations are 

 often thus stripped in a single season. 



