139 



NYCTALE. Brehm. Sato- Whet Owls. 



159. N. ACADICA. Bon. Acadian Oivl. Above chocolate brown, spotted 

 -with white; tail with white cross bars; small; L. 8; W. 5^. Not uncommon; 

 several species were known to be taken in the most frequented resident streets in 

 Chicago. Their owl wisdom can not solve the riddle of the town. 



hb. Tail two-thirds length of wing; length 18 or more. 



c. Pure white, with dark markings; toes hidden by long feathers; bill black; 

 iris yellow. 



N\CTEA. Steph. Great Snoiv Oivls. 



160. N. SCANDIACA^ Newt. Snowy Owl. Pure white, more or less barred 

 -with blackish; L. 23; W. 17; T. 10. Common winter resident in the vicinity of 

 the lake from November to April ; irregularly to Indianapolis. Hunts by day. I 

 have seen one chase a dog about the pasture ; both seemed to enjoy the sport. 



cc. Grayish; much barred ; complete facial disk ; bill yellow. 



SYRNIUM. Savigny. Barred Oivls, 



161. S. NEBULOSUM. Boie. Barred Owl. Iris black ; toes not concealed ; 

 olive brown, barred with white above; belly streaked; L. 18; W. 14; T. 9. Rare 

 in the prairie region ; rather common resident in the timbered portion of the State. 



162. S. CINEREUM. Aud. Great Gray Owl. Toes concealed; iris yellow; 

 cinereous brown above, waved with white; belly barred; largest of our owls; L. 

 30; W. 18; T. 12. A rare winter visitant in the north of the State. (Stirnia 

 ulna. Bp. Vor hudsonica, Ridg., the Day Owl ox Hawk Owl, is a rare winter resi- 

 ident about Chicago; a brown owl much spotted and variegated, about sixteen 

 inches long ; the most diurnal of the family, ranging abroad at all times, and the 

 most hawk-like of the owls.) 



FAMILY FALCONID^. 



{The Falcons.) 



Eyes lateral, eyelids with lashes, no complete facial disk ; toes always naked, and 

 usually tarsus also ; hind toe not elevated ; head fully feathered ; no ear tufts ; base 

 of stout, strongly hooked bill, not hidden by feathers ; claws very strong and sharp* 

 plumage usually of blended colors, barred or streaked ; changes considerable ; fe- 

 males usually the larger. Genera fifty ; species three hundred, abounding every- 

 where. They hold the same relation to birds that carnivorous beasts do to other 

 mammals. There are several allied groups in the family. Carrion hawks, marsh 

 harriers, fish hawks, kites, buzzards, hawks proper and true falcons comprise these 

 groups. Their mode of life necessarily renders them non-gregarious ; like other 

 preying birds, they are not strictly migratory ; the voice is loud and harsh ; the nests 

 vary much in the family ; the eggs are, as a rule, blotched, and not- as spherical as 

 those of owls. Their habits are too well known to require further description here. 



