Part 46

I. GENUS BUBO. Cuvier, Regne Animal, I. p. 331. (1817.)

Size, large; general form, very robust and strong; head, large, with prominent ear-tufts; eyes, very large; wings, long, wide; tail, moderate; tarsi short, and with the toes densely feathered; claws, very strong, curved; bill, rather short, curved from the base, strong, covered at base by projecting plumes. This genus contains the large horned Owls of which there are about fifteen species, the greater part being peculiar to Asia and Africa.

1. Bubo virginianus. (Gmelin.) The great horned Owl. The Cat Owl. Strix virginiana. Gm. Syst. Nat. I. p. 287. (1788.) Strix pythaules. Bartram Trav. p. 289. (1791.) Bubo ludovicianus. Daudin Traité d’Orn. II. p. 210. (1800.) Bubo pinicola. Vieill. Ois. d’Am., Sept., I. p. 51. (1807.)

Edward’s Birds, II. pl. 60. Vieill., Ois. d’Am., Sept., I. pl. 19. Wilson, Am. Orn., VI. pl. 50. fig. 1. Aud., B. of Am., pl. 61, Oct. ed., I. pl. 39. Nat. Hist. N. Y., pl. 10, fig. 22.

Large, adult, entire plumage above, dark-brown, every feather mottled, and with irregular lines of ashy-white and reddish fulvous, the latter being the color of all the plumage at the bases of the feathers. Ear-tufts, dark-brown, nearly black, edged on their inner webs with dark fulvous, a black spot above and extending somewhat in front of the eye, radiating feathers behind the eye, dark reddish fulvous, feathers of the facial disc tipped with black; throat and neck before, white; breast, with wide longitudinal stripes of black; other under parts finely variegated with white and fulvous, and every feather having transverse narrow lines of dark-brown. In many specimens, the middle of the abdomen is pure white; legs and toes light fulvous, generally unspotted, but in some specimens, with transverse narrow bars of dark-brown; quills, brown, with wide transverse bands of cinereous, tinged on the inner webs with pale fulvous; tail, the same, with the pale fulvous predominating in the outer feathers; iris, yellow; bill and claws, dark.

The colors of the plumage, and the size also, in this species, vary materially. There may be distinguished the following varieties, which appear to be permanent in individual specimens, and are to some extent geographical. Though at present, with a large number of specimens before us, we are of opinion that they are all of one species, it may be that they are distinct:

Variety, atlanticus.

The common species as just described. Feathers of the face behind the eye, always bright reddish fulvous, and the entire plumage more marked with that color than in the others, as below. This variety inhabits the eastern and northern portion of North America.

Variety, pacificus.

Feathers of the face, behind the eye, ashy, generally faintly tinged with fulvous. General plumage with the fulvous color paler than the preceding.

This variety appears to be restricted to the west, and nearly all the specimens that we have seen are of a smaller size than it is usual to find in the eastern bird, though we have seen specimens of the latter which were not larger.

Variety, arcticus. Bubo arcticus. Swainson, Faun. Bor. Am. Birds, p. 86, pl. 30. (1831.) Bubo sub-arcticus. Hoy, Proc. Acad., Philada., VI. p. 211. (Dec. 1852.)? Bubo septentrionalis. Brohm., Vog. Deutschl., p. 120. (1831.)? Strix scandiaca. Linn., Syst. Nat., I. p. 132. (1766.)?

Feathers of the face, pure white, or very pale cream color. General plumage, of a predominating pale yellowish-white, or cream color, of various shades in different specimens, sometimes nearly pure white, especially on the under parts, and always marked with brown, frequently very pale and indistinct, in the same general manner as in characteristic specimens of B. virginianus, var., atlanticus, but with the lines and stripes much less numerous and paler; tarsi and toes, nearly pure white. Size, in some specimens, quite as large as in the common variety, and the plumage with more on less of the same reddish fulvous at the bases of the feathers.

Of the specimens of this bird that we have seen, one is Dr. Hoy’s original, and another was brought from California, by Mr. Bell. The latter is the smaller, and is probably a male. Dr. Hoy’s specimen, which appears to be a large female, has the upper mandible with a more prominent lobe than is usual in specimens of this species.

Variety, magellanicus. Strix magellanicus. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. p. 286. (1788.) Buff. Pl. Enl., I. pl. 385. Strix nacurutu. Vieill., Nouv. Dict., VII. p. 44. (1817.) Bubo ludovicianus. Daudin, Traité d’Orn, II. p. 210?

Very similar to the common bird of eastern North America, and has all the plumage at base fulvous, very variable in color, frequently lighter than the common variety, but sometimes very dark; plumage behind the eyes, generally pale cinereous, but in some specimens more or less tinged with fulvous.

This variety inhabits, apparently, the whole of South America, and, probably, also southern North America.

Dimensions. Female.—Total length, 22 to 25 inches; wing 15 to 16; tail, 10 inches. Male, total length, 19 to 21 inches; wing, 14 to 15; tail, 9 inches. The western and southern varieties producing smaller specimens than the eastern and northern.

Hab. The whole of North America, western South America; Hudson’s Bay (Richardson); Canada (Dr. Hall); Wisconsin (Dr. Hoy); Washington territory (Dr. Cooper); Minnesota (Mr. Pratten); Vermont (Mr. Thompson); Oregon (Dr. Townsend); California (Dr. Heermann); Texas (Mr. Schott); Indian territory (Dr. Woodhouse); Mexico (Lieut. Couch). Breeds in Pennsylvania and northward. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.

Obs. With numerous specimens before us from various parts of America, we are unable to recognise any differences sufficient to establish specific distinctions, and we have therefore provisionally designated the above four varieties. All of them vary considerably in shade of color in different specimens.

This is the largest owl of North America, except one, the Great Cinereous Owl (Syrnium cinereum) and, like several other species of large birds, retreats before the progress of the settlement of the country. Formerly abundant, it is now comparatively rare in the more thickly populated states, and appears almost entirely as a wanderer in winter.

Specimens are not frequently seen so dark nor so large as represented in Mr. Audubon’s plate.

II. GENUS SCOPS. Savigny, Nat. Hist. Egypt, I. p. 105. (1809.)

EPHIALTES. Keyserling and Blasius, Wirbelth. Eur. p. 33. (1840.)

Size, small; head, large, with conspicuous ear-tufts; facial disc, imperfect above the eyes; bill, short, curved, nearly covered by projecting feathers; wings, long; tail, short, and generally slightly curved inwards; tarsi, rather long, and more or less covered; toes, long, partially covered with hair-like feathers; claws, rather long, curved, strong. General form short and compact. A genus containing about twenty-five species of small Owls of all parts of the world, except Australia.

1. Scops asio. (Linn.) The Mottled Owl. The Red Owl. The Screech Owl. Strix asio. Linn. Syst. Nat., I. p. 132. (1766.) Strix nævia. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. p. 289. (1788.) Bubo striatus. Vieill., Ois d’Am. Sept., I. p. 54. (1807.)

Catesby’s Carolina, I. pl. 7. Vieill., Ois. d’Am. Sept., I. pl. 21. Temm., Pl. Col. 80. Wilson, Am. Orn., pl. 19, fig. 1.; pl. 42, fig. 1. Aud., B. of Am., pl. 97. Oct. ed., I. pl. 40. Nat. Hist. N. Y., pl. 12, figs. 25, 26.

Short and compact; head, large; ear-tufts, prominent; wing, with the fourth quill slightly longest; tail, short, somewhat curved inwards; tarsi, long, fully clothed with feathers; toes, hairy. Adult. Entire plumage above, pale ashy-brown, nearly every feather with a longitudinal line, or stripe of dark brown, nearly black, and irregularly mottled, and with irregular transverse lines of brown, more or less tinged with ashy. Under parts, ashy-white, every feather with a longitudinal stripe of brownish black and with transverse lines of the same color; face and throat and tarsi ashy-white, irregularly lined and mottled with pale brownish; quills, brown, with transverse bands, nearly white on the outer webs, and pale ashy brown on their inner webs; tail, pale ashy-brown, with about ten transverse narrow bands of pale cinereous with a tinge of reddish; under wing-coverts, white, the larger tipped with black; bill and claws, light horn-color; irides, yellow. Younger. Entire upper parts, pale brownish-red, some feathers, especially on the head and scapulars, having longitudinal lines of brownish-black; under parts, white, some feathers with longitudinal stripes and lines of reddish-brown; feathers before the eyes, throat, under wing-coverts, and tarsi, white, frequently with a tinge of reddish; quills, reddish-brown, with transverse bands rufous on the outer webs, ashy on their inner; tail, rufous, with brown bands deeper on the inner webs. Young. Upper parts, except the head, rufous; head and entire under parts transversely striped with ashy-white and pale brown. Very Young. Entire plumage transversely striped with ashy-white and pale brown, tinged with rufous on the wings and tail; white nearly pure on under surface of the body.