CANADA OWL. 141 



claws are thin and pointed, and the one on the middle 

 toe has a sharp cutting edge on the inner side. 



This bird resembles, in general appearance, the diurnal 

 birds of prey, but its legs are of the usual shape of the 

 night Owls. 



The plain colouring of brown and white is very pleasingly 

 distributed in this Owl, and much more regularly than is 

 the case in others of its tribe. The region of the beak 

 and the face are covered with yellowish-white feathers, inter- 

 mixed with fine black bristles, which latter are particularly 

 close about the sides of the beak and the corners of the 

 eyes. The frame which surrounds the face of Owls in 

 general is very imperfect in the present species ; about the 

 ears is an indication of it in the shape of a black crescent ; 

 the throat is white ; the breast, sides, belly, and under 

 tail-coverts are also white, crossed with narrow dusky lines, 

 as in the sparrow-hawk. The tarsi and thighs are of a 

 yellowish- white, with pale dusky cross lines, the upper sur- 

 face of the toes also feathered with the same. The head 

 is dusky, each feather marked with a round white spot in 

 such a manner that the dusky retains the upper hand ; the 

 white predominates about the nape and the hinder part 

 of the neck. The back, rump, and shoulders are brown ; 

 the scapulars are white in the outer webs ; the wing-coverts 

 are brown, with a few white spots ; the quill-feathers are 

 dark brown, barred with yellowish-white ; the first quill- 

 feather is slightly serrated ; the tail-feathers are brown, 

 with eight or nine white bars, and white tips. 



The male and female are much alike, the latter is rather 

 the larger. In the young the colours are less pure than 

 in the adult. 



The Canada Owl belongs to the northern regions of the 

 globe. In Europe it is found in Sweden and Lapland, but 

 is rare in Denmark ; in Asiatic Russia it is more common. 



