SmiGID^: OTHER OWLS. 603 
(41) BUBONIN^ ? Eye eccentric, nearer top than bottom of more or less incomplete disc, and ear-conch 
not larger than eye, without developed operculum. 
Plumicorns present, well-developed. 
Very large : length over 18 inches ; tail about § the wing Bubo 161 
Small: length under 12 inches; tail about ^ the wing Scops 1G2 
Plumicorns present, rudimentary. Very large : length over 18 inches. White Nyctea 165 
Plumicorns absent. 
Tarsus full-feathered. 
Tail graduated. Length over 12 inches. Hawk-like Sumia 166 
Tail rounded. Length much under 12 inches Glaucidium 168 
Tarsus naked or scant-feathered. 
Length under 8 inches Micrathene 169 
Length over 8 inches Speotyto 170 
161. BU'BO. (Lat. the horned owl.) The Great Horned Owls. Hoot Owls. Skull 
and ear-parts symmetrical (of same size on both sides of head), the latter simply elliptical, 
non-operculate, not longer than the great yellow eye, which is eccentric in the moderately devel- 
oped fticial disc (nearer its top than bottom). Plu- 
micorns highly developed. Nostrils oval, in the 
edge of the cere, which is not inflated, nor as long 
as the rest of the culmen ; bill robust, black, not 
buried in the frontal bristles. Wings rather short, 
folding short of the end of the tail, the 3d or 4th 
primary longest, the first 3 or 3 emarginate near 
their ends. Tail rounded, more than ^ as long as 
the wing, its under coverts not reaching its end. 
Feet densely feathered to the last joint of the toes, 
but claws exposed. Of medium and very large size 
(some of the species are nearly the largest of the 
owls), and variegated, usually dark, colors ', plumage 
not dichromatic. Embracing numerous species, of 
all America and nearly all of the Old World : only 
one, however, in N. Am. 
462. B. virginia'nus. (Lat. virginianiis, Virginian. 
Fig. 353.) Great Horned Owl. Hoot Owl. 
Cat Owl. Distinguished by its large size and con- 
spicuous ear-tufts, our other species of similar stature 
being tuftless or nearly so. Length nearly or about 
two feet ; extent 4 or 5 feet ; wing 14.00-16.00 
inches ; tail 8.00-10.00 ; tarsus 2.00-3.25 ; culmen 353. _ Horned Owl, much reduced, 
without cere 1.10-1.20. 9 averaging larger thanj*. (FromTenney, after Audubon. ) 
Plumage varying interminably, no concise description meeting all its phases. A white collar on 
the throat is the most constant color-mark. On the upper parts, the under-plumage tawny, but 
so overlaid with coarse mottling of blackish and white, that it shows chiefly on the head, nape, 
and scapulars ; the mottling chiefly transverse, and resolving into 7 to 9 continuous or broken 
bars on the wings and tail. Under parts white, indefinitely tawny-tinged, and for the most 
part barred crosswise with blackish, changing on the fore breast to ragged and rather length- 
wise blotches. Feathering of feet nearly plain tawny. Ear-tufts black and tawny ; a dark 
mark over eye ; border of the facial disc black, the face white or tawny, but the feathers mostly 
black-shafted. Bill and claws black ; iris yellow ; pupil always circular; when fully dilated as 
large as a finger-ring, contractile to the size of a pea. Young covered at first \Adth white down ; 
first plumage more uniformly tawny and lighter- colored than it becomes after the first moult, 
when the white collar and other distinctive markings are assumed. This powerful bird, only 
