101 



O^^ClTHOLOqr, Book II. 



The Tongue, 

 Eyes, 



Ears, 



Circle of fea- 

 thers about 

 the fc.ee. 



Colour of the 

 upper fide, 



Underlie. 



The Wing- 

 feathers. 



The Tail. 



The Peer, 

 Toes, ard 

 Claws. 



The Guts and 

 Entrails. 



Chap. II. 

 , Of KoBumd (Rapacious Birds without Bars or Horns, 



I. I. 



The common brown or Ivy-Owl, Strix. Aldrov* 



T He Bird we deicribed was a Cock 3 tt was about the bignefs of a Pigeon, but 

 rounder-bodied, and feeming bigger than it was. It weighed twelve ounces 

 and an half. Its length from the tip of the beak to the end of the Tail was 

 fourteen inches : Its breadth, or the diftance between the extremities of the Wings 

 fpread, two feet and nine inches. 



The Bill from the point to the angles of the mouth was :,3 £ Inc Wigarrriore, of a 

 horn-colour, or rather a light blue. The mouth was wider, J? 1 r he M (hotter than 

 in the Barn-Owl. The Tongue not very fleihy, nor broad, a i'^e divided at the tip. 

 In the Palate was a cavity equal to the Tongue. It hath huge Eyes, at lead twice fo 

 big as thofe of the Barn or white Owl, and protuberant. It had Membranes for 

 Nictation, drawn from above downwards, having black edges. The borders of the 

 Eye-lids were broader than ordinary, and their edges red. The Ear-holes were 

 three times as great as in the white Owl, and covered with Valves. A circle of fea- 

 thers encompaiies the Eyes and Chin, like a womans hood, as in the Barn-Owl, but 

 not ftanding up fo high as in that. This circle or hood confifts of a double row of 

 feathers, the exteriour more rigid, variegated with white, black, and red 5 theinte- 

 riour confiding of foft feathers, of a white mingled with a flame-colour. The mid- 

 dle part of the head without the hood is of a dark brown. The exteriour circle of 

 the hood compafles the ears} thegreateft part of the interiour feathers of it, where 

 it paffesthe ears, grows out of the covers of the Ears. The Eyes in this Bird are 

 nearer to the Ears than in any other Animal I know. Beyond the Nofthrils and below 

 the Eyes grew briftly feathers having black (hafts. The back and upper fide of the 

 body was particoloured of ferrugineons and dark brown, the black taking up the 

 middle part of each feather, and the ferrugineons the out-fides. If one curioufly 

 view and obferve each fingle feather, one (hall find them waved with tranfverfe lines, 

 cinereous and brown alternately fucceeding each other. The belly and lower fide of 

 the body is of the fame colour with the back, but more dilute with a mixture of 

 white. The bottoms of all the feathers are black. In this and other Owls the fea- 

 thers invefting the whole body are longer or taller than in moft other birds, fo that 

 the bird feems to be much bigger than indeed it is. The feet are covered almoftdown 

 to the Claws with a thick dirty-white Plumage, fprinkled with fmall dark fpecks, 

 £ rather waved with dark lines ] only two or three of the annulary fcales bare. 



The number of flag-feathers in each Wing was twenty four. The exteriour [ />/«- 

 nuU ] webs of the outmoft whereof were terminated in (lender points like briftles, fe- 

 parate from each other, and ftanding like the teeth of a fine Comb. The Wing and 

 Tail-feathers were marked with fix or Ceven crofs bars of a dirty white, tincled in 

 fome with ferrugineous, and in fome with brown. The Wings complicated fall very 

 much (hort of the end of the Tail. The covert feathers of the Wings, chiefly thofe 

 about the middle, and thofe long ones fpringingfrom thefhoulders were (potted with 

 white, efpecially their interiour Vanes. 



The Tail was fix inches and an half long, made up of twelve feathers, themiddle- 

 moft being the longed, the reft' in order (horter to the outmoft : All ending in (harp 

 points, whereas in thofe of the Barn-Owl the tops were blunt. 



The foal of the foot was callous, of a horny or blackiih colour. That of the mid- 

 dle-toe had not the inner edge ferrate, as in the white Owl. All the toes were fepa- 

 rate to the very divarication. The outmoft of the fore-toes is made to turn alio back- 

 ward, and fupply the room of a Back-toe, as in the reft of this kind. 



The Guts were thirty inches long, and had many revolutions. The blind Guts 

 were five inches and an half long, toward their ends tumid and full of excrement : 

 The Liver divided into two Lobes. It had a large Gall j great black Tefticles. The 

 ftomach feemed to be more flefhy than in other carnivorous birds : and above it a 

 granulated Echinus or ante-ftomach. In the ftomach we found the fur of Mice. 

 & It 



