SYRNIINiE. 
plumes. Wings very long, with the second and third quills the longest. Tail moderate and even- 
Tarsi long, and covered with plumes. Toes moderate, more or less plumed, the lateral ones unequal) 
the outer one shortest ; the claws long, curved, and acute. 
These birds are found scattered in most parts of both hemispheres. They mostly frequent woods, plantations, 
thick bushes of holly and ivy ; some species, however, prefer the long grass or rushes of the moors and heaths, and the/ 
are even sometimes observed in the open cultivated fields. Their flight is rather rapid, easy, and graceful. They 
principally prey"on small mammalia and birds. Some species lay their eggs in the deserted nests of other birds ; others 
make a nest on the ground in the midst of heath, scraping a slight hollow, in which the eggs are deposited. They 
are usually four or five in number. 
1. O. vulgaris Flem. — Strix otus Linn. PI. enl. 29- ; Otus 
europseus Steph. ; O. communis Less. ; Strix soloniensis Gmel. 
2. O. Wilsonius Less. — Otus americanus Pr. Bonap. Wils. 
Amer. Orn. pi., Audub. B. of Amer. pi. 383. 
3. O. brachyotus (Gmel.) PI. enl. 438. — S. segolius, S. ulula, et 
S. accipitrina Pall. ; S. arctica Sparrm. ; S. tripennis Schrank ; S. 
palustris Smies j S. brachyura Nils. ; Brachyotus palustris Gould, 
B. of Eur. pi. 40., Audub. B. of Amer. pi. 410. 
4. O. galapagoensis Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837. 18., Voy. of 
Beagle, Birds, pi. 3. 
5. O. maculosus (Vieill.) Less. N. Diet. Hist. Nat. vii. 44., Gal. 
des Ois. t. 23*. — Strix africana Temm. PI. col. 50. 
6. O. crassirostris (Vieill.) N. Diet. Hist. Nat. vii. 44. - Stn* 
macrorliyncha Temm. PI. col. 64. 
7. O. capensis A. Smith, S. Afr. Quart. Journ. 1835. 306., IJ1, 
S. Afr. Zool. pi. 67. 
8. O. ahyssinicus Spier. Rev. Zool. 1843. 321. 
9. O. signapa D’Orb. Voy. l’lle de Cuba, t. 2. 
10. O. mexicanus (Gmel.) Cuv. — Strix clamator Vieill . d* 8, 
d'Amer. Sept. t. 20. ; S. longirostris Spin, Av. Bras. t. 9. a. ; S. a» e ' 
ricana Gmel. • S. maculosa Pr. Max. Audub. B. of Amer.pl. 412- 
lb O. philippensis G. R. Gray. 
12. ? O. stygius (Wagl.) Isis, 1832. — Type of Nyctalops W a ^' 
(1832). 
Nyctale Brehm. f 
Bill small, the base hidden by the frontal plumes ; the culmen arched to the tip, which is hooked a nC * 
acute, and the sides compressed ; the nostrils small, transverse, and oval, and placed in the tumid cere- 
Wings moderate and rounded, with the third and fourth quills nearly equal and longest. Tail lengthened 
and slightly rounded. Tarsi short, and clothed with long hairy feathers. Toes moderate, and densely 
covered with hairy feathers ; the claws moderate, curved, and acute. 
These birds are found in Europe and North America, where they inhabit the pine forests. As the sun declines bel°' v 
the horizon, they become all life and activity, and hunt the ground for mice and beetles. The nest is built of g 1 ' a3S ' 
and is generally placed in holes or clefts of pine trees ; the female lays two eggs. 
1. N. Tengmalmi (Gmel.) Strickl. — Strix dasypus Bechst.; S. 2. N. Richardsoni Pr. Bonap. — Strix Tengmalmi Richards- % 
funerea {Linn.) Nils. Gould, B. of Eur. pi. 49., Gal. des Ois. t. 23. Swains. Faun. Bor. Amer. pi. 32., Audub. B. of Amer. pi. 380. 
| M. Brehm established this genus in 1828; hut it was originally proposed by Savigny, in 1809, under the name of Noctua, whk* 1 ’ 
however, had been previously employed. Mr. Swainson, in 1837, used Scotophilus for the same birds. 
October, 1845. 
3 o 
