_Syrnium_, SAVIGNY, Nat. Hist. Egypt, I, 112; 1809. (Type, _Strix
aluco_, L.)
_Scotiaptex_, SWAINS., Classif. B. II, 1837, p. 216. (Type, _Strix
cinerea_, GMEL.)
_? Ciccaba_, WAGL. Isis, 1831. (Type, _Strix huhula_, DAUD.)
_? Pulsatrix_, KAUP, 1849. (_Strix torquatus_, DAUD.)
GEN. CHAR. Size varying from medium to very large. No ear-tufts. Head
very large, the eyes comparatively small. Four to six outer primaries
with their inner webs sinuated. Tarsi and upper portion, or the whole
of the toes, densely clothed with hair-like feathers. Tail considerably
more than half as long as the wing, decidedly rounded. Ear-orifice very
high, but not so high as the skull, and furnished with an anterior
operculum, which does not usually extend along the full length; the two
ears asymmetrical. Bill yellow.
[Illustration: =4357= ⅓
_Syrnium nebulosum._]
Subgenera.
=Scotiaptex.= Six outer quills with their inner webs emarginated. Toes
completely concealed by dense long hair-like feathers. Iris yellow.
(Type, _S. cinereum_.)
=Syrnium=, SWAINSON. Five outer quills with their inner webs
emarginated. Toes not completely concealed by feathers; sometimes
nearly naked; terminal scutellæ always (?) exposed. Iris blackish.
(Type, _S. aluco_.)
The typical species of this genus are confined to the Northern
Hemisphere. It is yet doubtful whether the Tropical American species
usually referred to this genus really belong here. The genera _Ciccaba_,
Wagl., and _Pulsatrix_, Kaup, have been instituted to include most of
them; but whether these are generically or only subgenerically distinct
from the typical species of _Syrnium_ remains to be decided.
Our _S. nebulosum_ and _S. occidentale_ seem to be strictly congeneric
with the _S. aluca_, the type of the subgenus _Syrnium_, since they
agree in the minutest particulars in regard to their external form, and
other characters not specific.
[Illustration: =4337= ½ ½
_Syrnium nebulosum._]
Species and Varieties.
_a._ _Scotiaptex_, SWAINS.
1. =S. cinereum.= Iris yellow; bill yellow. Dusky grayish-brown
and grayish-white, the former prevailing above, the latter
predominating beneath. The upper surface with mottlings of a
transverse tendency; the lower surface with the markings in the
form of ragged longitudinal stripes, which are transformed into
transverse bars on the flanks, etc. Face grayish-white, with
concentric rings of dusky. Wing, 16.00–18.00; tail, 11.00–12.50.
Dark markings predominating. _Hab._ Northern portions of the
Nearctic Realm …
var. _cinereum_.
Light markings predominating. _Hab._ Northern portions of the
Palæarctic Realm …
var. _lapponicum_.
_b._ _Syrnium_, SAV.
COMMON CHARACTERS. Liver-brown or umber, variously spotted and barred
with whitish or ochraceous. Bill yellow; iris brownish-black.
2. =S. nebulosum.= Lower parts striped longitudinally. Head and neck
with transverse bars.
Colors reddish-umber and ochraceous-white. Face with obscure
concentric rings of darker. Wing, 13.00–14.00; tail, 9.00–10.00.
_Hab._ Eastern region of United States …
var. _nebulosum_.
Colors blackish-sepia and clear white. Face without any darker
concentric rings. Wing, 14.80; tail, 9.00. _Hab._ Eastern Mexico
(Mirador) …
var. _sartorii_.[21]
Colors tawny-brown and bright fulvous. Face without darker
concentric rings (?). Wing, 12.50, 12.75; tail, 7.30, 8.50. _Hab._
Guatemala …
var. _fulvescens_.[22]
3. =S. occidentale.= Lower parts transversely barred. Head and
neck with roundish spots. Wing, 12.00–13.10; tail, 9.00. _Hab._
Southern California (Fort Tejon, XANTUS) and Arizona (Tucson, Nov.
7, BENDIRE).
Syrnium (Scotiaptex) cinereum, AUDUBON.