_Nyctale_, BREHM, 1828. (Type, _Strix tengmalmi_, GMEL.)
GEN. CHAR. Size small. Head very large, without ear-tufts. Eyes
moderate; iris yellow. Two outer primaries only with their inner webs
distinctly emarginated. Tarsi and toes densely, but closely, feathered.
Ear-conch very large, nearly as high as the skull, with an anterior
operculum; the two ears exceedingly asymmetrical, not only externally,
but in their osteological structure. Furcula not anchylosed posteriorly,
but joined by a membrane.
[Illustration: =12053= ½
_Nyctale acadica._]
Of this genus only three species are as yet known; two of these
belong to the Northern Hemisphere, one of them (_N. tengmalmi_) being
circumpolar, the other (_N. acadica_) peculiar to North America. The
habitat of the remaining species (_N. harrisi_) is unknown, but is
supposed to be South America. If it be really from that portion of the
New World, it was probably obtained in a mountainous region.
Species and Races.
COMMON CHARACTERS. Above umber, or chocolate, brown, spotted with
white (more or less uniform in the young); beneath white with
longitudinal stripes of reddish-brown (adult), or ochraceous without
markings (young).
=A.= Nostril sunken, elongate-oval, obliquely vertical, opening
laterally; cere not inflated. Tail considerably more than half the
wing. Bill yellow.
1. =N. tengmalmi.= Wing, 7.20; tail, 4.50; culmen, .60; tarsus,
1.00; middle toe, .67 (average).
Legs white, almost, or quite, unspotted; lower tail-coverts
with narrow shaft-streaks of brown. (Light tints generally
predominating.) _Hab._ Northern portions of Palæarctic Realm …
var. _tengmalmi_.[23]
Legs ochraceous, thickly spotted with brown; lower tail-coverts
with broad medial stripes of brown. (Dark tints generally
predominating.) _Hab._ Northern portions of Nearctic Realm …
var. _richardsoni_.
=B.= Nostril prominent, nearly circular, opening anteriorly; cere
somewhat inflated. Tail scarcely more than half the wing. Bill
black.
2. =N. acadica.= Wing, 5.25 to 5.80; tail, 2.60 to 3.00; culmen,
.50; tarsus, .80; middle toe, .60. _Juv._ Face dark brown;
forehead and crown brown; occiput brown; eyebrows and sides of
chin white; throat and breast umber-brown. (= “_albifrons_,” Shaw
= “_kirtlandi_,” HOY.) _Hab._ Cold temperate portions of Nearctic
Realm.
3. =N. harrisi.=[24] Wing, 5.80; tail, 3.00; culmen, .50; tarsus,
1.00; middle toe, .80. _Juv._ (?) Face and forehead and anterior
half of crown and whole nape ochraceous; posterior half of crown
and occiput black; eyebrows and sides of chin ochraceous; throat
and breast ochraceous. A narrow belt of black spots in ruff across
throat. _Hab._ South America?
Nyctale tengmalmi, var. richardsoni, BONAP.