Ill 



FAMILY III. STRIGIN^E. OWLS. 



Bill very short, strong, cerate; upper mandible with the tip elongated and 

 decurved; lower mandible with the end rounded and thin-edged. Head 

 extremely large, owing to the wide separation of the tables of the cranium, 

 roundish, more or less vertically flattened behind, feathered. Eyes exces- 

 sively large, with prominent superciliary ridges, and encircled by series of 

 decomposed feathers. External aperture of ear always very large, frequently 

 excessive, simple or operculate. Tarsus short, very short, or of moderate 

 length, always feathered, as are the toes, of which the outer is versatile, the 

 first shorter than the second, the anterior free; claws very long, slender, 

 curved, extremely acute. Plumage very full and soft. Wings long, broad, 

 rounded, the second, third, and fourth quills longest, the filaments of the 

 outer more or less enlarged and recurved at the end. Tail broad, rather 

 short or of moderate length, of twelve feathers. (Esophagus very wide, 

 without crop or dilatation; stomach very large, round, somewhat membranous, 

 its muscular fasciculi being placed in a single series; intestine short and 

 wide; coeca large, oblong, obtuse, narrowed at the base. Young at first 

 covered with light-coloured down, when fledged, with the face darker than 

 that of adults. Eggs white, somewhat globular or broadly ovate, from four 

 to six. Nests rudely constructed, in hollow trees, on branches, in buildings, 

 or on the ground. 



Genus I.— SURNIA, Dumeril. DAY-OWL. 



Bill very short, strong, its upper outline decurved from the base; lower 

 mandible abruptly rounded, with a sinus on each side. Nostrils elliptical, 

 rather large. Aperture of ear elliptical, simple, not more than half the height 

 of the head. Feet strong; tarsi very short or of moderate length. Plumage 

 rather dense; facial disks incomplete above. Wings very large, the third 

 quill longest, the first with the filaments thickened and a little free, but 

 scarcely recurved at the end. Tail varying in length. 



