140 ST RIG IDE. 



RAPTORES. STRICHDjE. 



PLATE XXVIII. 



CANADA OWL. 

 Strix Nisoria. 



This Owl is about the size of the Short-eared Owl ; the 

 head and face are, however, smaller, the wings shorter and 

 more pointed, the tail much longer, and the beak more 

 like those of the hawks. In point of form it bears much 

 resemblance to the harriers. 



In the size of various specimens there exists a considerable 

 difference, without reference to its age or sex. In length 

 this Owl measures from sixteen to seventeen and a half 

 inches, in width from thirty-one to thirty-two inches ; the 

 tail is seven and a half inches long, of which half is covered 

 by the wings, and it is so much rounded that the middle 

 feathers exceed the outer by two inches in length. 



The beak is thick and beautifully arched, the upper 

 mandible measures one inch in the arc, the lower is some- 

 what compressed at the edge, with a slight indentation near 

 the tip. The eyes are not so large as those of other Owls ; 

 the iris is sulphur-yellow. 



The legs, as well as the upper part of the toes, are fully 

 feathered, the tarsus an inch and a quarter long, the middle 

 toe and claw one inch and three quarters, the hinder the 

 same, but the claw alone occupies ten lines. The soles of 

 the feet are dirty yellow ; the long, finely-arched, dusky 



