Ill 
FAMILY III. STRIGINiE. OWLS. 
Bill very short, strong, cerate ; upper mandible with the tip elongated and 
decurved ; lower mandible with the end rounded and thin-edged. Head 
extremely large, owing to the wide separation of the tables of the cranium, 
roundish, more or less vertically flattened behind, feathered. Eyes exces- 
sively large, with prominent superciliary ridges, and encircled by series of 
decomposed feathers. External aperture of ear always very large, frequently 
excessive, simple or operculate. Tarsus short,’ very short, or of moderate 
length, always feathered, as are the toes, of which the outer is versatile, the 
first shorter than the second, the anterior free ; claws very long, slender, 
curved, extremely acute. Plumage very full and soft. Wings long, broad, 
rounded, the second, third, and fourth quills longest, the filaments of the 
outer more or less enlarged and recurved at the end. Tail broad, rather 
short or of moderate length, of twelve feathers. (Esophagus very wide, 
without crop or dilatation ; stomach very large, round, somewhat membra- 
nous, its muscular fasciculi being placed in a single series ; intestine short 
and wide ; coeca large, oblong, obtuse, narrowed at the base. Young at 
first covered with light-coloured down, when fledged, with the face darker 
than that of adults. Eggs white, somewhat globular or broadly ovate, from 
four to six. Nests rudely constructed, in hollow trees, on branches, in build- 
ings, or on the ground. 
Genus I. — SURNIA, Dumeril.. DAY-OWL. 
Bill very short, strong, its upper outline decurved from the base ; lower 
mandible abruptly rounded, with a sinus on each side. Nostrils elliptical, 
rather large. Aperture of ear elliptical, simple, not more than half the height 
of the head. Feet strong ; tarsi very short or of moderate length. Plumage 
rather dense ; facial disks incomplete above. Wings very large, the third 
quill longest, the first with the filaments thickened and a little free, but 
scarcely recurved at the end. Tail varying in length. 
