246 BARRED OWL. 



Strix nebulosa, &mel. Sjst. Nat. vol. i. p. 291 — Lath. Iiid. Oniith. vol. i. p. 21.— 

 Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 38. 



Barred Owl, Strix nebulosa. Lath. Synops. vol. i. p. 133 — JFils. Amer. Oniith. 

 vol. iv. p. 61. PI. 23. f5g. 2. 



Adult Male. Plate XI.VI. Fig. 1. 



Bill very short, compressed, curved, acute, with a small cere at the 

 base ; upper mandible with its dorsal outline curved from the base, the 

 edges acute, the point trigonal, very acute, deflected, lower mandible 

 with the edges acute and inflected, obtuse at the tip. Nostrils roundish, 

 in the fore part of the cere, concealed by the recumbent bristles. Head 

 disproportionably large, as are the eyes and external ears. Body short. 

 Legs long ; tarsus feathered ; toes feathered at the base, scutellate above, 

 papillar and tubercular beneath ; claws curved, slender, rounded, ex- 

 tremely sharp. 



Plumage exceedingly soft and downy, somewhat distinct above, tufty 

 and loose beneath. Long bristly feathers at the base of the bill, stretch- 

 ing forwards. Eyes surrounded by several circles of compact feathers ; 

 auricular feathers forming a ruff, and with those of the head and neck ca- 

 pable of being erected. Wings ample, the fourth quill longest, the first 

 short. Tail long, large, rounded, of twelve broad, rounded feathers. 



Bill yellow, the under mandible tinged with blue on the back. Eyes 

 black. Toes yellow ; claws bluish-black. The general colour of the up- 

 per parts is hght reddish-brown. Face and greater part of the head 

 brownish-white, the feathers of the latter broadly marked with brown, of 

 which a narrow band passes from the bill along the middle of the head. 

 Feathers of the back and most of the wing-coverts largely spotted with 

 white. Primary coverts, quiUs, and tail, barred with light brownish-red ; 

 wings and tail tipped with greyish-white. Under parts pale brownish- 

 red, longitudinally streaked with brown, excepting the neck and upper 

 breast, wliich are transversely marked, the abdomen, which is yeUowish- 

 white, and the tarsal feathers, which are hght reddish. 



Length 18 inches, extent of wings 40. Bill along the ridge 1^ ; tar- 

 sus 2^, middle toe 2. 



