Part 49

Small; wings long; tail short; claws slender. Resembles the preceding, but is much smaller. Entire upper parts reddish-brown, tinged with olive, on the head in front with fine central longitudinal lines of white, and on the neck behind, scapulars and rump with large concealed spots of white: face ashy-white; throat white; under parts white, nearly every feather having a wide longitudinal stripe of pale reddish-brown; under coverts of the wings and tail white; quills brown, with small spots of white on their outer edges, and large spots of the same on their inner-webs, very conspicuous when viewed from below; tail brown, with about three pairs of white spots; bill and claws dark; iris yellow.

Dimensions. Total length, 7½ to 8 inches; wing, 5½; tail, 2¾ to 3 inches.

Hab. The whole of North America. Canada (Dr. Hall); Wisconsin (Dr. Hoy); Northern Ohio (Prof. Kirtland); Oregon (Dr. Townsend); California (Dr. Gambel); Kentucky, Louisiana (Mr. Audubon). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.

Obs. This is the smallest Owl that inhabits the eastern and middle States of North America, and is of rather frequent occurrence as far south as Pennsylvania. Repeated instances of this little bird having been captured alive in the city of Philadelphia, have come to our knowledge. It appears to be strictly nocturnal, and when discovered in the daytime, is generally quite bewildered, if disturbed, and apparently nearly incapable of seeking safety by flight. The first specimen that ever we met with, we killed with our gun ramrod. That was long ago, in the bright days when natural history was the dream of our youth.

3. Nyctale albifrons. (Shaw.) The White-fronted Owl. Kirtland’s Owl. Strix albifrons. Shaw, Nat. Misc., V. p. (not paged.) (1794.) Strix frontalis. Lichtenstein, Trans. Berlin Acad., 1838, p. 430. Nyctale Kirtlandii. Hoy, Proc. Acad., Philada., VI. p. 210. (1852.)

Cassin, B. of Texas and Cal., I. pl. 11. Shaw, Nat. Misc., V. pl. 171.

Small; wing rather long, fourth quill longest; tail short. Adult. Head and upper portion of breast and entire superior parts dark chocolate brown; front and eyebrows white; throat, and a line on each side running downwards from the base of the under mandible, white; radiating feathers behind the eye dark brown; primaries dark brown, with small spots of white on their outer edges, and large spots of the same on their inner webs; tail dark brown, narrowly tipped with white, and with two bands of the same; entire under parts of the body, legs and toes reddish ochre-yellow; bill and claws dark; iris yellow.

Dimensions. Total length, about 8 inches; wing, 5¼; tail, 3 inches. Female.—Larger.

Hab. Wisconsin (Dr. Hoy); Canada, near Montreal (Dr. Hall); Western?

Obs. Within the limits of the United States, this handsome little Owl has, as yet, only been observed by Dr. Hoy, whose specimens were obtained at Racine, Wisconsin. It is alluded to as Strix acadica, and accurately described by Dr. Hall in his MSS. “Sketch of the Zoology of the district of Montreal,” though represented as of rare occurrence. It is probably a northern and northwestern species.

In the paper cited above, Prof. Lichtenstein regards this bird as the adult Nyctale acadica, and this appears to be the opinion also of the Prince of Canino (Cons. Av., p. 54). It is about the size of N. acadica, but of the numerous specimens of that species which have come under our notice, not one has presented intermediate characters, or has otherwise excited a suspicion that the two species were identical. We at present consider them as distinct species.

We have no doubt that this bird is the Strix albifrons, Shaw, a species which has been lost sight of for upwards of fifty years; but for the gratification of students who may not have access to the necessary books, we append the original descriptions:—

“Ferruginous brown Owl, paler beneath, with the forehead white, and the remiges barred with black and white.

“The very curious and diminutive species of Owl here represented in its natural size, has perhaps never been either figured or described. It is a native of North America, and particularly of Canada. The supposed female is destitute of the white forehead, which forms so conspicuous a character in the male. It belongs to the division of smooth or hornless Owls.”—Shaw’s Naturalist’s Miscellany, V. text, not paged, accompanying pl. 171. (1794.)

The same species, and probably the same specimen, is described by Latham, in General Synopsis of Birds, Supplement II. p. 58 (1801).

“White-fronted Owl, Nat. Mis., pl. 171. Size of the Little Owl. Length eight inches; general color of the plumage on the upper parts brown; the circle of the feathers round the eyes dark, fringed at the back part with white; between the eyes and over the bill and the chin white; the under parts from thence yellow buff; across the breast a pale brown band; on the wing-coverts a spot or two of white; the first five quills marked with a white spot on the outer, and the second quills with the same on the inner margins; the first quills serrated on the outer edge the whole length; the second quill the same, half-way from the tip; tail marked as the quills; legs feathered; bill black; toes dusky.

“This was brought from Quebec, by General Davies, in 1790, and with it another much smaller, which he had in his possession alive; it differed in being more dusky, and the circles of the face not fringed on the back part; otherwise so like, as to be supposed merely differing in age or sex. The General observed to me that this bird frequently erected two feathers over the eye; but although I inspected the specimens very narrowly, I could not observe any feathers longer than the rest; which circumstance is also noticed in respect to the Short-eared Owl.” (Latham, as above.)

IV. SUB-FAMILY ATHENINÆ. THE BIRD OWLS.

Size small; facial disc nearly or quite obsolete; tarsi generally partially or but thinly clothed with feathers; head without ear-tufts. A numerous group of species, which are generally small and not so nocturnal as those of the preceding sub-families.

I. GENUS ATHENE. Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 549.

Size small; head moderate, without ear-tufts; wings long, with the third and fourth quills usually longest; tail moderate; facial disc, nearly obsolete; bill short; upper mandible curved from the base, nearly concealed by projecting feathers; tarsi long, thinly covered with feathers; toes naked or with a few hair-like feathers. A genus containing about forty species of small Owls of all quarters of the globe.

1. Athene hypugœa. (Bonap.) The Burrowing Owl. Strix hypugœa. Bonap., Am. Orn., I. p. 72. (1825.) Athene socialis. Gambel, Proc. Acad., Philada., III. p. 47. (1846.)

Bonap., Am. Orn., I, pl. 7, fig. 2. Aud., B. of Am., pl. 432, fig. 1. Oct. ed., pl. 31?

Small; head moderate; tarsi long; slender, thinly covered in front only with hair-like feathers; naked and scaled laterally and behind; toes with a few scattered hairs; claws curved, rather slender. Adult. Entire upper parts light yellowish-brown, every feather more or less spotted with white, and on the neck behind, and back, with large partially concealed spots of white; throat white, a narrow band of mottled brown and white on the neck before, succeeded by a large patch of white; other under parts white, with wide transverse bands of reddish-brown, varying in shade in different specimens; legs and under tail-coverts white; quills light brown, with yellowish-white spots on their outer edges, and reddish-white bands on their inner webs; tail pale brown, with about six irregular bands of yellowish-white; face yellowish-white; bill light yellow and horn-color; irides yellow. Young. Entire plumage much darker than the adult, and with transverse narrow bands and lines of dark brown.

Dimensions. Male.—Total length, 9 to 10 inches; wing, 7; tail, 4 inches. Female.—Larger.

Hab. Western North America. Oregon (Dr. Townsend); Nebraska (Dr. Suckley); Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico (Col. McCall); Great Salt Lake (Capt. Stansbury); California (Dr. Heermann); Mexico (Lieut. Couch). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada., and Nat. Mus., Washington city.

Obs. This curious Owl is very abundant in some localities in Western America, where it lives in communities in burrows in the ground. It is nearly related to several South American species, especially to Athene cunicularia, which is a native of the western countries of that portion of this continent.

We have doubts that fig. 1 of Mr. Audubon’s plate 432 represents this bird, but think it probable that it represents one of the South American species, which fig. 2 of the same plate clearly does. Dr. Townsend’s collection, specimens from which were figured by Mr. Audubon, contained birds of Chili and Peru, as well as of North America, from which circumstance the error may have occurred.