°r<lerl. ACCIPITRES. 
^he third Family, 
STRIGID^, or Owls, 
lave ^ 1G short, the sides compressed, the base concealed by the projecting bristles, and the culmen 
much arc hed to the tip, which is hooked ; the Wings usually moderate and rounded ; the Tail broad 
d ol various length ; the Tarsi generally short, and feathered to the toes ; loes usually short, and either 
' Tothed with plumes or slightly covered with hairs ; the claws long and very acute. The eyes large, and 
c °m passed with a radiated circle of slender hairy feathers, forming a facial disk. 
1 he first Subfamily, 
SURNINtE, or Hawk-Owls, 
llaVe the llead small, without tufts, and the facial disk imperfect above the eyes. 
Surnia Dum .* 
short, mostly hidden by the projecting plumes, compressed on the sides, the culmen mu ‘ 
J Bie tip, which is hooked and acute; the nostrils entirely concealed by the plumes. Wings lon c an 
Pointed, with the third quill the longest. Tail lengthened, broad, and wedge-shaped. Tarsi short, and 
Sel y l du med. Toes short, the lateral ones unequal, and all densely clothed with plumes, the 
° n g’ CUr ved, and acute. 
seek U m thC northern of Europe and America, and the southern parts of Africa, that these birds are hmrnl. T 
of t U ' f °° d ’ WWch chiefly consists of mice, birds, and insects, mostly in the day time ; but during theyn^th 
bid r rtheni ktitude8 feed Principally on ptarmigans, and are said to follow the hunter for the purpo sc o f «e g 
S.^t have been shot by hi. They build their nest on trees, and it is composed of sticks, grass, and fcatl 
They 
those 
seizing the 
feathers. The 
lays generally two 
eggs. 
pi. 4,5 “ a C Linn.) Pr. Bonap. PI. enl. 4b3., Gould, B. of Eur. 
Freti fj 1 funerea Gmel. ; S. doliata Pall. ; S. canadensis et S. 
f. (j . s 1 SOn ' s ; S. hudsonia Gmel. Wils. Amer. Orn. pi. SO. 
Aud„K n m ? ria ^ e 'J er : S- arctica Spar.; Surnia borealis Less. 
• n. of Amer. pi. 373 . 
2 . S. choucou (Lath.) Less. Le Vaill. Ois. d’Afr.t 38. - Strix 
africana Shaw. 
3. S. nisuella (Lath.) Less. Le Vatll.O.s. d Afr. t. 3.9- 
* Established by Dumeril in 1806. 
