Tufts elongated; general colour of plumage buff, mottled and spotted
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_, 14-1/2, 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, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 573.
38. 2. Otus brachyotus, Linn. Short-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, posterior
yellowish; anterior auricular ruff white, posterior yellowish, each
feather with an oblong dark brown spot; upper parts buff,
longitudinally 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
yellowish-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.
_Male_, 15, 40. _Female_, 17, 45.
From Texas eastward. Columbia River. Common. Migratory.
Short-eared Owl, Strix brachyotos, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. iv. p.
64.
Strix brachyotos, Bonap. Syn. p. 37.
Short-eared Owl, Strix brachyotos, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 132.
Short-eared Owl, Strix brachyotos, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p.
273.
GENUS VI. BUBO, Cuvier. HORNED-OWL.
Bill short, stout, broader than high at the base, compressed toward
the end; upper mandible with its dorsal line curved from the base, the
edges with a slight festoon, the tip trigonal, very acute; lower
mandible with the dorsal line convex, the tip obliquely truncate.
Nostrils broadly elliptical, aperture of ear elliptical, less than
half the height of the head, without operculum. Feet of ordinary
length; tarsi and toes feathered. Plumage full and very soft; facial
disks complete; a tuft of elongated feathers on each side of the crown
of the head. Wings ample, the first quill short, the fourth longest.
Tail of ordinary length, rounded.
39. 1. Bubo Virginianus, Gmel. Virginian Horned-Owl.--Great
Horned-Owl.
Plate LXI. Male and Female.
Upper part of the head brownish-black, mottled with light brown, the
tufts of the same colour, margined with brown; face brownish-red, with
a circle of blackish-brown; upper parts undulatingly banded and
minutely mottled with brownish-black and yellowish-red, behind tinged
with grey; wings and tail light brownish-yellow, barred and mottled
with blackish-brown and light brownish-red; chin white; upper part of
throat light reddish, spotted with black, a band of white across the
middle of fore neck; its lower part and the breast light
yellowish-red, barred with deep brown, as are the lower parts
generally; several longitudinal brownish-black patches on the lower
fore neck; tarsal feathers light yellowish-red, obscurely barred.
_Male_, 23, 56. _Female_, 25, 60.
From Texas northward. Resident. Not rare in the south.
Great Horned-Owl, Strix Virginiana, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. vi. p.
52.
Strix Virginiana, Bonap. Syn. p. 37.
Great Horned-Owl or Cat Owl, Strix Virginiana, Nutt. Man. v.
i. p. 124.
Great Horned-Owl, Strix Virginiana, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p.
313; v. v. p. 393.