STRIX FLAMMEA 21 



STRIGES 



Family STRIGIDiE 

 STRIX FLAMMEA (Linn^us) 



The Common Barn Owl, AlUn, Nat. Hist. Birds, ii, pi. xi, 1738; 

 Watertou, Essays Nat. Hist., p. 7, 1838. 



L' Effraie, La Fresaie, Buffon, Hist. Nat. Ois., i, p. 291, pi. ccccxl, 



1770. 

 Strix flammea, Linnceus, Systema Naturce, i, p. 135, 1766; Gould, 



Birds of Europe, i, pi. xxxvi, 1834 ; Gould and Darwin, Voy. " Beagle," 



Birds, p. 34, 1841 ; Gould, Birds of Great Britain, i, pi. xxviii, 1869 ; 



Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., ii, p. 291, pi. xiv, 1875 ; Sclater and 



Hudson, Argentine Orn., ii, p. 48, 1889 ; Lilford, Birds British Islands, i, 



p. 109, pi. Ii, 1890. 

 LcclLUZa, Azara, Pdxaros, Paraguay y La Plata, i, p. 210, 1802, 

 Strix perlata, B'Orligny, Voy. Amer. Merid., Ois., p. 135, 1835. 

 Strix punctatissima, Gould and Darwin, Voy. "Beagle," Birds, p. 34, 



pi. iv, 1841. 

 Strix delicatula, Gould, Birds of Australia, i, pi. xxxi, 1846. 

 Strix indica, Go%ild, Birds of Asia, i, pi. xvii, 1872. 



Habitat. — The Entire World, with certain exceptions. 



An Owl, which I think can only be this species, is occasion- 

 ally met with in the island. At San Sebastian Settlement, two 

 have been killed, one of these in a chimney in the manager's 

 house. I was shown the wings and took them to be those of" 

 the Barn Owl. Mr. Clarke assures me he has once or twice 

 seen the same Owl to the south of Useless Bay. 



Of all members of the order, the Barn Owl has the widest 

 distribution. Its remarkable variation consequent thereon forms 

 the subject of much divergence of opinion as to whether its many 

 races are to be considered one or many species. The plates 

 quoted in my references serve to illustrate some of its extreme 

 phases of variation. 



Azara at once recognized this bird as the Owl of his native 

 land. " Es la misma Lechuza de Espana," he says. " Se halla en 

 todos estos paises introduciendose y criando en los templos, y 

 tambien en los agujeros de las penas y troncos." After men- 



