A Synopsis of the Birds of North America. John James Audubon
of twelve feathers. Œsophagus very wide, without crop or dilatation; stomach very large, round, somewhat membranous, its muscular fasciculi being placed in a single series; intestine short and wide; cœca large, oblong, obtuse, narrowed at the base. Young at first covered with light-coloured down, when fledged, with the face darker than that of adults. Eggs white, somewhat globular or broadly ovate, from four to six. Nests rudely constructed, in hollow trees, on branches, in buildings, or on the ground.
GENUS I. SURNIA, Dumeril. DAY-OWL
Bill very short, strong, its upper outline decurved from the base; lower mandible abruptly rounded, with a sinus on each side. Nostrils elliptical, rather large. Aperture of ear elliptical, simple, not more than half the height of the head. Feet strong; tarsi very short or of moderate length. Plumage rather dense; facial disks incomplete above. Wings very large, the third quill longest, the first with the filaments thickened and a little free, but scarcely recurved at the end. Tail varying in length.
27. 1. Surnia funerea, Gmel. Hawk Day-Owl. – Hawk Owl
Plate CCCLXXVIII. Male and Female.
Tail long, much rounded, the lateral feathers two inches shorter than the middle. Upper part of head brownish-black, closely spotted with white, hind neck black, with two broad longitudinal bands of white spots; rest of upper parts dark brown, spotted with white; tail with eight transverse bars of white, the feathers tipped with the same; facial disks greyish-white, margined with black; lower parts transversely barred with brown and dull white.
Male, 153/4, 311/2. Female, 171/2.
From New Jersey on the east, and from Columbia River on the west, northward; but not in the central plains. Migratory.
Hawk Owl, Strix hudsonica, Wils. v. vi. p. 64.
Strix funerea, Bonap. Syn. p. 35.
Hawk Owl, Strix funerea, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 115.
28. 2. Surnia nyctea, Linn. Snowy Day-Owl. – Snowy Owl
Plate CXXI. Male and Female.
Tail rather long, moderately rounded; plumage white; head and back spotted; wings, tail, and lower parts barred with dusky brown. Young pure white. Individuals vary much in markings.
Male, 21, 53. Female, 26, 65.
From South Carolina on the east, and Columbia River on the west, northward. Migratory.
Snowy Owl, Strix nyctea, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 116.
Snowy Owl, Strix nyctea, Aud. Amer. Orn. v. ii. p. 135: v. v. p. 382.
29. 3. Surnia passerina, Linn. Passerine Day-Owl. – Little Night Owl
Plate CCCCXXXII. Fig. 3. Female.
Tail rather short, arched, nearly even; wings almost as long as the tail, the outer four quills cut out on the inner web, the outer five sinuated on the outer; filaments of the first free and slightly recurved, as are those of the second and third beyond the sinus. General colour of upper parts chocolate-brown, the feather of the head with an oblong median white mark; hind neck with very large white spots, forming a conspicuous patch; on the back most of the feathers with a single large subterminal roundish spot, as is the case with the scapulars and wing-coverts, most of which, however, have two or more spots; quills with marginal reddish-white spots on both webs, the third with six on the outer and four on the inner, with two very faint pale bars toward the end; the tail similarly marked with four bands of transversely oblong, reddish-white spots; feathers of the anterior part of the disk whitish, with black shafts, of the lower part whitish, of the hind part brown tipped with greyish-white; a broad band of white crossing the throat, and curving upwards on either side to the ear; a patch of white on the lower part of the fore-neck; between these a brownish-grey band. Lower parts dull yellowish-white, each feather with a broad longitudinal band of chocolate-brown; abdomen and lower tail-coverts unspotted; tarsal feathers dull white.
Female, 101/2; wing from flex. 61/4; tail 31/2.
From Nova Scotia eastward. Rather rare.
Little Night Owl, Strix passerina, Aud. v. v. p. 269.
31. 5. Surnia cunicularia, Gmel. Burrowing Day-Owl
Plate CCCCXXXII. Fig. 1. Male. Fig. 2. Female.
Feet rather long, slender; tarsus covered with short soft feathers, of which the shafts only remain toward the lower part; toes short, their upper surface covered with bristles or the shafts of feathers; tail short, arched, narrow, slightly rounded. Bill greyish-yellow; claws black. General colour of upper parts light yellowish-brown, or umber-brown, spotted with white; the quills with triangular reddish-white spots from the margins of both webs, there being five on each web of the first; the tail similarly barred, there being on the middle feathers four double spots, and the tips of all white. Face greyish-white; throat and ruff white, succeeded by a mottled brown band, beneath which is a patch of white; the rest of the lower parts yellowish-white, with broad bars of light reddish-brown, which are closer on the sides of the breast; abdomen, lower tail-coverts, and legs without spots.
Male, 10, 24. Female, 11.
Prairies west of the Mississippi. Abundant.
Burrowing Owl, Strix cunicularia, Say, in Long's Exped. v. i. p. 200.
Burrowing Owl, Strix cunicularia, Bonap. Amer. Orn. v. i. p. 68.
Burrowing Owl, Strix cunicularia, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 264.
Burrowing Owl, Strix cunicularia, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 118.
30. 4. Surnia passerinoides, Temm. Columbian Day-Owl
Plate CCCCXXXII. Fig. 4, 5. Male.
Tail of moderate length, straight, slightly rounded; wings rather short, much rounded, fourth quill longest, outer three abruptly cut out on the inner web, the first with its filaments thickened but not recurvate, those of the second and third also thickened toward the end. General colour of the upper parts olivaceous brown; the head with numerous small, roundish, yellowish-white spots margined with dusky, of which there are two on each feather; the rest of the upper parts marked with larger, angular, whitish spots; the quills generally with three small and five large white spots on the outer and inner webs; the tail barred with transversely oblong white spots, of which there are seven pairs on the middle feathers. Facial disk brown, spotted with white; throat white, then a transverse brown band, succeeded by white; the lower parts white, with longitudinal brownish-black streaks, the sides brown, faintly spotted with paler. Young with the upper parts rufous, the head with fewer and smaller white spots; those on the lower part of the hind neck very large; the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts unspotted; the wings marked as in the adult, but with pale red spots in the outer, and reddish-white on the inner webs; the tail with only five bands of spots; the lower parts white, longitudinally streaked with light red, of which colour are the sides of the body and neck, and a band across the throat.
Male, 7, wing 37½/12.
Columbia River.
Cheveche chevechoide, Strix passerinoides, Temm. Pl. Col. 344.
Little Columbian Owl, Strix passerinoides, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 271.
GENUS II. ULULA. NIGHT-OWL
Bill short, strong, very deep, its upper outline decurved from the base; lower mandible abruptly rounded, with a notch on each side. Nostrils broadly elliptical, rather large. Conch of ear very large, elliptical, extending from the base of the lower jaw to near the top of the head, with an anterior semicircular operculum in its whole length. Feet rather short, strong; tarsi and toes covered with very soft downy feathers. Plumage full, and very soft; facial disks complete. Wings rather long, very broad, much rounded, the third quill longest; the filaments of the first, half of the second, and the terminal part of the third, free and recurved. Tail of moderate length, arched, slightly rounded.
32. 1. Ulula Tengmalmi, Gmel. Tengmalm's Night-Owl
Plate