stjrigid^: otheb owls. 



603 



(41) BuBONiN^ ? Eye eccentric, nearer top than bottom of more or less incomplete disc, and ear-conch 

 not larger than eye, without developed operculum. 

 Plumicorns present, well-developed. 



Very large : length over 18 inches ; tail about | the wing Biiljo 161 



Small : length under 12 inches ; tail about i the wing Scops 162 



Plumicorns present, rudimentary. Very large ; length over 18 inches. White Nyctea 165 



Plumicorns absent. 



Tarsus full-feathered. 



Tail graduated. Length over 12 inches. Hawk-like Surnia 166 



Tail rounded. Length much under 12 Inches Glaucidlum 168 



Tarsus naked or scant-feathered. 



Length under 8 inches Micraihime 169 



Length over 8 inches Speotyto 170 



161. BU'BO. (Lat. &«6o, the homed owl.) The Gee at Horned Owls. Hoot Owls. Skull 

 and ear-parts symmetrioal (of same size on both sides of head), the latter simply elliptical, 

 non-operculate, not longer than the great yellow eye, whioh is eccentric in the moderately devel- 

 oped facial disc (nearer its top than bottom). Plu- 

 micorns highly developed. Nostrils oval, in the 

 edge of the cere, which is not inflated, nor as long 

 as the rest of the eulmen ; bill robust, black, not 

 buried in the frontal bristles. Wings rather short, 

 folding short of the end of the tail, the 3d or 4tli 

 primary longest, tbe first 3 or 3 emarginate near 

 their ends. Tail rounded, more than | as long as 

 the wing, its under coverts not reaching its end. 

 Feet densely feathered to the last joint of the toes, 

 but claws exposed. Of medium and very large size 

 (some of the species are nearly the largest of the 

 owls), and variegated, usually dark, colors ; plumage 

 ncit dichromatic. Embracing numerous species, of 

 all America and nearly aU of the Old World ; only 

 one, however, in N. Am. 



463. B. virginia'nus. (Lat. virginianus, Virginian. 

 Fig. 3.53.) Oke-\t Horned Owl. Hoot Owl. 

 Cat Owl. Distinguished by its large size and con- 

 spicuous ear-tufts, our other species of similar stature 

 being tuftless or nearly so. Length nearly or about 

 two feet ; extent 4 or 5 feet ; wing 14.00-16.00 



inches; tail 8.00-10.00; tarsus 2.00-2.25; eulmen j.„.,„ „_,^ ,„, 



... , 1 TA n 0/1 ^ . 1' 16- •'O")- — Great Horned Owl, much reduced, 



without cere i. 10-1. 20. ^averaging larger than^. (FromTenney, after Audubon. ) 



Plamage varying interminably, no concise description meeting aU its phases. A white collar on 

 the throat is the most constant color-mark. On the upper parts, the under-plumage tawy, but 

 so overlaid with coarse mottling of blackish and white, that it shows chiefly on the head, nape, 

 and scaptdars ; the mottling chiefly transverse, and resolving into 7 to 9 continuous or broken 

 bars on the wmgs and tail. Under parts white, indefinitely tawny-tinged, and for the most- 

 part barred crosswise .vith blackish, changing on the fore breast to ragged and rather length- 

 wise blotches. Feathering of feet nearly plain tawny. Ear-tufts black and tawny; a dark 



blS TJT rTi'"/ i"" 'if i''" '''*' ^'^ '^'' "^^^'^ °^ *^^-y' ''"^^ ^^- f-thers mostly 

 black-shafted. Bill and claws black ; iris yellow ; pupil always circular; when fully dOated as 

 large as a finger-rmg, contractae to the size of a pea. Young covered at first .dth white down 

 first plumage more uniformly tawny and lighter-colored than it becomes after the first moult 

 when the white collar and other distinctive markings are assumed. This powerful bird oni; 



