ACCIPITRES. 
Family III. Stiuuidjs. 
Order I, 
' h '-' fou nl Subfamily, 
We ‘he head 
STKIGINiE, or Owls, 
smooth, with the facial disk very large, subtriangular, and complete. 
Stkix Linn.* 
th e cul C! m ° Stly concea h'd at the base by the projecting plumes ; the sides much compressed, and 
ln emb'< 1 aiC ^ ec ^ Oie tip, which is acute and hooked; the nostrils large, partly covered by a 
quill ^ ^ ’ Wltp Tpe opening oval, and slightly hidden by the hairs. Wings very long, with the second 
covered ° U *= esp Tail short and generally even. Tarsi much longer than the middle toe, slender, and 
the out e ^ s ^ or f soft plumes. Toes long, and covered with scattered hairs ; the lateral ones unequal, 
UC ^ L Sorter than the inner ; the hind toe short and thick : the claws long, curved, and acute. 
Thi 
Pecul 
iar f 0 j ^habit the world generally. Their habits are strictly nocturnal ; the softness oi their plumage and the 
^ ltl su S p ec ^ their quills give them a buoyant and noiseless flight, which enables them to steal upon tlieii piey 
consists of mice and other small quadrupeds, which they swallow whole, the hairs, bones, and otlui 
ai e ejected in oval pellets by the mouth. Some species live on crustaceous animals. The nests aie 
The females lay from three to 
gestible 
uuli 
for med i 
e ggs, 
Parts, 
m old t J u vdi pc 
e !tgs, VG is, tops of churches, the thatch of barns, and in the hollows of trees, 
Q L * 
pi. ' S - Pratincola IV ^ 6nL 44 °- Gouk h B - ° f Eur - P»- 36. 
' k 2. ; S „ . ' ona P Strix flammea Wils. Amer. Orn. 
A' O 0 r S f . o ~ «• o. ioax 
• S - tonginiemhT - ' Catula Goukl > Proc. Z. S. 1836. 140. 
6L f^ iea (Gmelfj! 
Afr. r:T Pen ^ A. Smith 
• Zool, 
Ph 45. 
Proc. Z. S. 1831. 60. — Strix flammea 
fla Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1836. 
rrl,, 6 . 1 "' 1 ' Journ - A - s - B - 1839 . 86 . 
S. Afr. Quart. Journ. n. s. 1836., 111. S. 
7. S. poensis Fras. Proc. Z. S. 1842. 187- 
8. S. castanops Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1836. 140. 
9. S. cyclops Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1836. 140. 
10. S. punctatissima G. R. Gray, Voy. of Beagle, Birds, p. 34, 
pi. 4. 
11. S. leucomanna Eversm. Isis, 1839- 70. 
12. S. perlata Licht. Cat. Dupl. Berl. Mus. p. 59- — Strix tur " 
cata Temm. Pi. col. 432. ? 
Phodilus I. Geoffr .f 
lxiodo * 
^ hooked ar ( | 5 Partl y c °ncealed by the projecting plumes; the culmen much arched to the tip, which 
'° ri S and po ' Cu ^ e > an< I the sides compressed ; the nostrils basal, lateral, with the opening oval. II ings 
1 JUri ded. jr the fourth, fifth, and sixth quills nearly equal and longest. Tail shoit mid 
’ longer than the middle toe, and thickly clothed with plumes. Toes long ; lateial one 
Established by Linnaeus in 1735 ( Systema Natures). 
+ Established by Isidore Geoffroy in the Ann. des Sci. Nat. xxi. p. 201. 
