28 
STRIGIN^. OTUS. 
and downy, facial disks complete, ruff distinct. Two small 
tufts of elongated feathers on the head. Wings long and 
broad; the second quill longest ; the outer in its whole length^ 
the second toward the end, and the first alular feather, with 
the filaments disunited and recurved at the ends. Tail 
rather short, a little rounded. 
37. 1. Otus vulgaris, Fleming. Common Eared-OwL— 
Long-eared Owl. 
Tufts elongated ; general colour of plumage buff, mottled and spot- 
ted with brown and greyish-white ; dirty whitish anteriorly, with the 
tips black, posteriorly reddish- white ; ruff mottled with red and black ; 
upper part of head minutely mottled with whitish, brownish-black, 
and light red ; the tufts light reddish toward the base, brownish-black 
in the centre toward the end, the inner edge white, dotted with dark 
brown ; upper parts buff, variegated with brown and whitish-grey, 
minutely mottled or undulatingly barred ; first row of coverts tipped 
with white ,* quills and scapulars pale grey barred with dark brown, 
the primaries buff toward the base externally. Tail with ten bars on 
the middle and eight on the outer feathers ; lower parts with more buff 
and fewer spots than the upper, each feather with a long dark brown 
streak, and several irregular transverse bars ,' legs and toes pure buff. 
Male, 14|, 38. Female ^ 16, 40. 
From Maryland eastward, and Kentucky westward to the Missouri, 
Rather rare. Resident. 
Long-eared Owl, Strix Otus, Wils, Amer. Orn. v. vi. p. 52. 
Strix Otus, Bonap. Syn. p. 37. 
Long-eared Owl, Strix Otus, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 130. 
Long-eared Owl, Strix Otus, Aun. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 573. 
38. 2. Otus brachyotus, Linn. Sbort-tufted Eared-Owl. — 
Short-Eared Owl. 
Tufts inconspicuous, general colour of plumage buff variegated with 
dark brown ; eye surrounded by a ring of brownish-black, much 
broader behind; anterior half of disk white, with the tips black, poste- 
rior yellowish ; anterior auricular ruff white, posterior yellowish, each 
feather with an oblong dark brown spot ; upper parts buff, longitudi- 
nally streaked with dark brown ; scapulars and wing-coverts spotted 
and banded in large patches, many with a large yellowish-white spot 
on the outer web near the end ; quills buff, with two or three dark 
brown bands ; tail similar, with five broad dark bands, the tip yellow- 
ish-white ; on the middle feathers, the light-coloured spaces have a 
brown central patch ; lower parts pale buff, whitish behind, the neck 
with oblong, the breast and sides with linear dark brown streaks ; chin, 
feet, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts unspotted. 
