STBIGID^: OTHER OWLS. 



503 



(41) BuBomir^ 7 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 Bubo 



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



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



Plumicorns absent. 



Tarsus full-feathered. 



Tail graduated. Length over 12 inches. Hawk-like Swmia 



Tail rounded. Length much under 12 inches Glaucidium 



Tarsus naked or scant-feathered. 



Length under 8 inches . . . Micrathene 



Length over 8 inches Speotyto 



161 

 162 

 165 



166 

 168 



170 



161. BU'BO. (Lat. 6m&o, the horned owl.) The Great Horned Owls. Hoot Owls. Skull 

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

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

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

 micorns highly developed. NostrUs oval, in the 

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

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

 buried in the frontal bristles. Wings rather short, 

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

 primary longest, the first 2 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 

 not dichromatic. Embracing numerous species, of 

 all America and nearly all of the Old World ; only 

 onoj however, in N. Am. 



463. B. Tirginla'nus. (Lat. virginicmus, Virginian. 

 Fig. 353.) Great 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; culmen 

 without cere 1.10-1.20. ? averaging larger than^. 

 Plumage 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 tawny, but 

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

 and scapulars ; the mottling chiefly transverse, and resolving into 7 to 9 continuoiis or broken 

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

 part barred crosswise with 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 

 mark over eye ; border of the facial disc black, the face white or tawny, but the feathers mostly 

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

 large as a finger-ring, contractile to the size of a pea. Young covered at first with 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, only 



Pig. 363. — Great Horned Owl, muohredncea. 

 (From Tenney, after Audubon. ) 



