4337 ½ ½
Syrnium nebulosum.
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.
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).
Strix cinerea, Gmel. Syst. Nat. p. 291, 1788.—Lath. Ind. Orn. p. 58, 1790; Syn. I, 134; Supp. I, 45; Gen. Hist. I, 337.—Vieill. Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat. VII, 23, 1816; Enc. Méth. III, 1289; Ois. Am. Sept. I, 48.—Rich. & Swains. F. B. A. II, pl. xxxi, 1831.—Bonap. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 436; Isis, 1832, p. 1140.—Aud. Birds Am. pl. cccli, 1831; Orn. Biog. IV, 364.—Nutt. Man. p. 128.—Tyzenhauz, Rev. Zoöl. 1851, p. 571. Syrnium cinereum, Aud. Synop. p. 26, 1839.—Cass. Birds Cal. & Tex. p. 184, 1854; Birds N. Am. 1858, p. 56.—Brew. (Wils.) Am. Orn. p. 687.—De Kay, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 26, pl. xiii, f. 29, 1844.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 188, 1855.—Newb. P. R. R. Rept. VI, IV, 77, 1857.—Coop. & Suck. P. R. R. Rept. XII, II, 156, 1860.—Kaup, Tr. Zoöl. Soc. IV, 1859, 256.—Dall & Bannister, Tr. Chicago Acad. I, 1869, 173.—Gray, Hand List, I, 48, 1869.—Maynard, Birds Eastern Mass., 1870, 130.—Scotiaptex cinerea, Swains. Classif. Birds, II, 217, 1837. Syrnium lapponicum, var. cinereum, Coues, Key, 1872, 204. Strix acclamator, Bart. Trans. 285, 1792.
Sp. Char. Adult. Ground-color of the upper surface dark vandyke-brown, but this relieved by a transverse mottling (on the edges of the feathers) of white, the medial portions of the feathers being scarcely variegated, causing an appearance of obsolete longitudinal dark stripes, these most conspicuous on the scapulars and back. The anterior portions above are more regularly barred transversely; the white bars interrupted, however, by the brown medial stripe. On the rump and upper tail-coverts the mottling is more profuse, causing a grayish appearance. On the wing-coverts the outer webs are most variegated by the white mottling. The alula and primary coverts have very obsolete bands of paler; the secondaries are crossed by nine (last terminal, and three concealed by coverts) bands of pale grayish-brown, inclining to white at the borders of the spots; primaries crossed by nine transverse series of quadrate spots of mottled pale brownish-gray on the outer webs, those beyond the emargination obscure,—the terminal crescentic bar distinct, however; upper secondaries and middle tail-feathers with coarse transverse mottling, almost forming bars. Tail with about nine paler bands, these merely marked off by parallel, nearly white bars, enclosing a plain grayish-brown, sometimes slightly mottled space, just perceptibly darker than the ground-color; basally the feathers become profusely mottled, so that the bands are confused; the last band is terminal. Beneath with the ground-color grayish-white, each feather of the neck, breast, and abdomen with a broad, longitudinal ragged stripe of dark brown, like the ground-color of the upper parts; sides, flanks, crissum, and lower tail-coverts with regular transverse narrow bands; legs with finer, more irregular, transverse bars of dusky. “Eyebrows,” lores, and chin grayish-white, a dusky space at anterior angle of the eye; face grayish-white, with distinct concentric semicircles of blackish-brown; facial circle dark brown, becoming white across the foreneck, where it is divided medially by a spot of brownish-black, covering the throat.
♂ (32,306, Moose Factory, Hudson Bay Territory; J. McKenzie). Wing-formula, 4=5, 3, 6–2, 7–8–9, 1. Wing, 16.00; tail, 11.00; culmen, 1.00; tarsus, 2.30; middle toe, 1.50.
♀ (54,358, Nulato, R. Am., April 11, 1868; W. H. Dall). Wing-formula, 4=5, 3, 6–2, 7–8–9, 1. Wing, 18.00; tail, 12.50; culmen, 1.00; tarsus, 2.20; middle toe, 1.70.
Hab. Arctic America (resident in Canada?). In winter extending into northern borders of United States (Massachusetts, Maynard).
The relationship between the Syrnium cinereum and the S. lapponicum is exactly parallel to that between the Otus vulgaris, var. wilsonianus, and var. vulgaris, Surnia ulula, var. hudsonia, and the var. ulula, and Nyctale tengmalmi, var. richardsoni, and the var. tengmalmi. In conformity to the general rule among the species which belong to the two continents, the American race of the present bird is very decidedly darker than the European one, which has the whitish mottling much more prevalent, giving the plumage a lighter and more grayish aspect. The white predominates on the outer webs of the scapulars. On the head and neck the white equals the dusky in extent, while on the lower parts it largely prevails. The longitudinal stripes of the dorsal region are much more conspicuous in lapponicum than in cinereum.
Syrnium cinereum.
A specimen in the Schlütter collection, labelled as from “Nord-Europa,” is not distinguishable from North American examples, and is so very unlike the usual Lapland style that we doubt its being a European specimen at all.
Habits. The Great Gray or Cinereous Owl appears to be confined to the more northern portions of North America. It is rarely met with in any part of the United States, and only in winter, with the exception of Washington Territory, where it is presumed to be a resident. It is also said to be a resident in Canada, and to be found in the vicinity of Montreal. Mr. Lawrence does not include this bird in his list of the birds of New York, but Mr. Turnbull states that several have been taken as far south as New Jersey. Throughout New England it is occasional in the winter, but comparatively rare. Mr. Allen did not hear of any having been taken near Springfield. On the coast of Massachusetts they are of infrequent occurrence, and are held at high prices. A fine specimen was shot in Lynn in the winter of 1872, and is now in the collection of my nephew, W. S. Brewer. On the Pacific coast it is resident as far south as the mouth of the Columbia, and is found in winter in Northern California.
Dr. Richardson met with this Owl in the fur regions, where it seemed to be by no means rare. He mentions it as an inhabitant of all the wooded districts which lie between Lake Superior and latitude 67° and 68°, and between Hudson’s Bay and the Pacific. It was common on the borders of Great Bear Lake, in which region, as well as in a higher parallel of latitude, it pursues its prey during the summer months by daylight. It was observed to keep constantly within the woods, and was not seen to frequent the barren grounds, in the manner of the Snowy Owl, nor was it so often met with in broad daylight as the Hawk Owl, apparently preferring to hunt when the sun was low and the recesses of the woods deeply shadowed, when the hares and other smaller quadrupeds, upon which it chiefly feeds, were most abundant.
On the 23d of May, Dr. Richardson discovered a nest of this Owl, built on the top of a lofty balsam-poplar, composed of sticks, with a lining of feathers. It contained three young birds, covered with a whitish down, to secure which it was necessary to cut down the tree. While this was going on, the parent birds flew in circles around the tree, keeping out of gun-shot, and apparently undisturbed by the light. The young birds were kept alive for several weeks, but finally escaped. They had the habit, when any one entered the room in which they were kept, of throwing themselves back and making a loud snapping noise with their bills.
In February, 1831, as Audubon was informed, a fine specimen of one of these Owls was taken alive in Marblehead, Mass., having been seen perched upon a woodpile early in the morning. It was obtained by Mr. Ives, of Salem, by whom it was kept several months. It was fed on fish and small birds, and ate its food readily. It would at times utter a tremulous cry, not unlike that of the common Screech-Owl (Scops asio), and manifested the greatest antipathy to cats and dogs.
Dr. Cooper found this bird near the mouth of the Columbia River, in a brackish meadow partially covered with small spruce-trees, where they sat concealed during the day, or made short flights from one to another. Dr. Cooper procured a specimen there in June, and has no doubt that the bird is resident and breeds in that neighborhood. He regards it as somewhat diurnal in its habits, and states that it is especially active toward sunset.
Dr. Newberry speaks of this Owl as one generally distributed over the western part of the continent, he having met with it in the Sacramento Valley, in the Cascade Mountains, in the Des Chutes Basin, and in Oregon, on the Columbia River. Mr. Robert MacFarlane found it in great abundance in the Anderson River region. On the 19th of July, as we find in one of his memoranda, he met with a nest of this species near Lockhart River, on the route to Fort Good Hope. The nest was on the top of a pine-tree, twenty feet from the ground. It contained two eggs and two young, both of which were dead. The nest was composed of sticks and mosses, and was lined thinly with down. The female was sitting on the nest, but left it at his approach, and flew to a tree at some distance, where she was shot.
Mr. Donald Gunn writes that the Cinereous Owl is to be found both in summer and in winter throughout all the country commonly known as the Hudson Bay Territory. He states that it hunts by night, preys upon rabbits and mice, and nests in tall poplar-trees, usually quite early in the season.
A single specimen of this Owl was taken at Sitka by Bischoff, and on the 20th of April Mr. Dall obtained a female that had been shot at Takitesky, about twenty miles east of the Yukon, near Nulato. He subsequently obtained several specimens in that region. Mr. Dall describes it as very stupid, and easy to be caught by the hand during the daytime. From its awkward motions its Indian name of nūhl-tūhl, signifying “heavy walker,” is derived. So far as observed by Mr. Dall, this Owl appeared to feed principally upon small birds, and he took no less than thirteen crania and other remains of Ægiothus linaria from the crop of a single bird.
Specimens of this Owl have also been received by the Smithsonian Institution, collected by Mr. Kennicott, from Fort Yukon and from Nulato; from Mr. J. McKenzie, Moose Factory; from J. Lockhart, obtained at Fort Resolution and at Fort Yukon; from J. Flett, at La Pierre House; from B. R. Ross, at Big Island; and from Mr. S. Jones and Mr. J. McDougall, at Fort Yukon. These were all taken between February 11 and July 19.
One of the eggs of this Owl, referred to above in Mr. MacFarlane’s note, is in my cabinet. It is small for the size of the bird, and is of a dull soiled-white color, oblong in shape, and decidedly more pointed at one end than at the other. It measures 2.25 inches in length by 1.78 in breadth. The drawing of an egg of this species, made by Mr. Audubon from a supposed specimen of an egg of this species, referred to in the “North American Oölogy,” and which measured 2.44 by 2.00 inches, was probably a sketch of the egg of the Snowy Owl.
Strix nebulosa, Forst. Phil. Trans. XXII, 386 & 424, 1772.—Gmel. Syst. Nat. p. 291, 1789.—Lath. Ind. Orn. p. 58, 1790; Syn. I, 133; Gen. Hist. I, 338.—Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 191, 1800.—Shaw, Zoöl. VII, 245, 1839; Nat. Misc. pl. xxv.—Vieill. Ois. Am. Sept. pl. xvii, 1807; Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat. VII, 32; Enc. Méth. III, 1292.—Aud. Birds Am. pl. xlvi, 1831; Orn. Biog. I, 242.—Temm. Man. Orn. pt. i, p. 88; pt. iii, p. 47.—Wern. Atl. Ois. Eur.—Meyer, Taschenb. Deutsch Vogelk. III, 21; Zusätze, p. 21.—Wils. Am. Orn. pl. xxxiii, f. 2, 1808.—Rich. & Swains. F. B. A. II, 81.—Bonap. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, 38; Isis, 1832, p. 1140.—Jard. (Wils.) Am. Orn. II, 57, 1832. Ulula nebulosa, Steph. Zoöl. XIII, pl. ii, p. 60, 1815.—Cuv. Reg. An. (ed. 2), I, 342, 1829.—James. (Wils.) Am. Orn. I, 107, 1831; IV, 280.—Bonaparte, List, page 7, 1838; Conspectus Avium, p. 53.—Gould, Birds Eur. pl. xlvi.—Less. Man. Orn. I, 113, 1828; Tr. Orn. p. 108.—Gray, Gen. B. fol. (ed. 2), p. 8, 1844.—De Kay, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 29, pl. x, f. 21, 1844. Syrnium nebulosum, Gray, Gen. B. fol. sp. 9, 1844; List Birds Brit. Mus. p. 104.—Cass. Birds Cal. & Tex. p. 184, 1854; Birds N. Am. 1858, 56.—Giraud, Birds Long Island, p. 24, 1844.—Woodh. in Sitgr. Rept. Expl. Zuñi & Colorad. p. 63, 1853.—Brew. (Wils.) Am. Orn. p. 687, 1852.—Kaup, Monog. Strig. Cont. Orn. 1852, p. 121.—Ib. Tr. Zoöl. Soc. IV, 256.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 189, 1855.—Max. Cab. Jour. VI, 1858, 28.—Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 330 (Texas, resident).—Coues, Key, 1872, 204.—Gray, Hand List, I, 48, 1869.
Sp. Char. Adult. Head, neck, breast, back, scapulars, and rump with broad regular transverse bars of ochraceous-white and deep umber-brown, the latter color always terminal; on the upper surface the brown somewhat exceeds the whitish in width, but on the neck and breast the white rather predominates. The lower third of the breast is somewhat differently marked from the upper portion, the brown bars being connected along the shaft of the feather, throwing the white into pairs of spots on opposite webs. Each feather of the abdomen, sides, flanks, and lower tail-coverts has a broad medial longitudinal stripe of brown somewhat deeper in tint than the transverse bars on the upper parts; the anal region is plain, more ochraceous, white; the legs have numerous, but rather faint, transverse spots of brown. Ground-color of the wings and tail brown, like the bars of the back; middle and secondary wing-coverts with roundish transverse spots of nearly pure white on lower webs; lesser coverts plain rich brown; secondaries crossed by six bands of pale grayish-brown, passing into paler on the edge of each feather,—the last is terminal, passing narrowly into whitish; primary coverts with four bands of darker ochraceous-brown; primaries with transverse series of quadrate pale-brown spots on the outer webs (growing deeper in tint on inner quills), the last terminal; on the longest are about eight. Tail like the wings, crossed with six or seven sharply defined bands of pale brown, the last terminal.
Face grayish-white, with concentric semicircular bars of brown; eyebrows and lores with black shafts; a narrow crescent of black against anterior angle of the eye. Facial circle of blackish-brown and creamy-white bars, the former prevailing along the anterior edge, the latter more distinct posteriorly, and prevailing across the neck in front, where the brown forms disconnected transverse spots.
♀ (752, Carlisle, Penn.). Wing-formula, 4–3, 5–2, 6; 1=9. Wing, 13.00; tail, 9.00; culmen, 1.05; tarsus, 1.90; middle toe, 1.50.
♂. A little smaller. (No specimen marked ♂ in the collection.)
Hab. Eastern North America, west to the Missouri; Rio Grande region.
A female (?) from Calais, Me., (4,966; G. A. Boardman,) is somewhat lighter-colored than the type, owing to the clearer white of the bars. It measures, wing, 13.50; tail, 9.80.
A specimen (4,357, January) from Washington, D. C., is quite remarkable for the very dark tints of plumage and the unusual prevalence of the brown; this is of a more reddish cast than in all other specimens, becoming somewhat blackish on the head and neck; anteriorly it prevails so as to almost completely hide the pale bars of the back and nape. The tail has no bars except three or four very obsolete ones near the end; beneath, the ochraceous tinge is quite deep. The toes, except their first joint, are perfectly naked; the middle one, however, has a narrow strip of feathering running along the outer side as far as the last joint. The darker shades of color, and more naked toes, seem to be distinguishing features of southern examples.
Syrnium nebulosum.
Habits. The Barred Owl has an extended range, having been met with nearly throughout North America, from about latitude 50° to Texas. Minnesota is the most western point to which, so far as I am aware, it has been traced. It is more abundant in the Southern States than elsewhere, and in the more northern portions of North America is somewhat rare. Richardson did not encounter it in the more arctic portion of the fur countries, nor has it, so far as I can learn, been observed on the Pacific coast. It is said to be of accidental occurrence in northern Europe.
In Louisiana, as Mr. Audubon states, it is more abundant than anywhere else; and Dr. Woodhouse speaks of it as very common in the Indian Territories, and also in Texas and New Mexico, especially in the timbered lands bordering the streams and ponds of that region. In July, 1846, while in pursuit of shore birds in the island of Muskeget, near Nantucket, in the middle of a bright day, I was surprised by meeting one of these birds, which, uninvited, joined us in the hunt, and when shot proved to be a fine male adult specimen.
The Barred Owl was found in great abundance in Florida by Mr. J. A. Allen, the only species of Owl at all common, and where its ludicrous notes were heard at night everywhere, and even occasionally in the daytime. At night they not unfrequently startle the traveller by their strange utterances from the trees directly over his head.
Mr. Dresser speaks of it as very abundant at all seasons of the year in the wooded parts of Texas. He was not able to find its nest, but was told by the hunters that they build in hollow trees, near the banks of the rivers.
According to Mr. Downes, this Owl is common throughout Nova Scotia, where it is resident, and never leaves its particular neighborhood. It breeds in the woods throughout all parts of that colony, and was observed by him to feed on hares, spruce and ruffed grouse, and other birds. It is said to be a quite common event for this bird to make its appearance at midnight about the camp-fires of the moose-hunter and the lumberer, and to disturb their slumbers with its cries, as with a demoniacal expression it peers into the glare of the embers. Distending its throat and pushing its head forward, it gives utterance to unearthly sounds that to the superstitious are quite appalling.
Mr. Wilson regarded this species as one of the most common of the Owls in the lower parts of Pennsylvania, where it was particularly numerous in winter, among the woods that border the extensive meadows of the Schuylkill and the Delaware River. He frequently observed it flying during the day, when it seemed to be able to see quite distinctly. He met with more than forty of these birds in one spring, either flying or sitting exposed in the daytime, and once discovered one of its nests situated in the crotch of a white oak, among thick foliage, and containing three young. It was rudely put together, made outwardly of sticks, intermixed with dry grasses and leaves, and lined with smaller twigs. He adds that this Owl screams in the day in the manner of a Hawk. Nuttall characterizes their peculiar hooting as a loud guttural call, which he expresses by ’koh-’koh-’ko-’ko-’ho, or as ’whah-’whah-’whah-’whah-aa, heard occasionally both by day and by night. It is a note of recognition, and may be easily imitated, and can be used as a means to decoy the birds. Nuttall received a specimen that had been shot in November, hovering, in the daytime, over a covey of Quail.
Mr. Audubon speaks of the peculiar hooting cries of this species as strangely ludicrous in sound, and as suggestive of an affected burst of laughter. He adds that he has frequently seen this nocturnal marauder alight within a few yards of his camp-fire, exposing its whole body to the glare of the light, and eying him in a very curious manner, and with a noticeable liveliness and oddness of motion. In Louisiana, where he found them more abundant than anywhere else, Mr. Audubon states that, should the weather be lowering, and indicative of the approach of rain, their cries are so multiplied during the day, and especially in the evening, and they respond to each other in tones so strange, that one might imagine some extraordinary fête was about to take place among them. At this time their gesticulations are said to be of a very extraordinary nature.
The flight of this Owl is described as remarkably smooth, light, noiseless, and capable of being greatly protracted. So very lightly do they fly, that Mr. Audubon states he has frequently discovered one passing over him, and only a few yards distant, by first seeing its shadow on the ground, in the bright moonlight, when not the faintest rustling of its wings could be heard.
This Owl has the reputation of being very destructive to poultry, especially to half-grown chickens. In Louisiana they are said to nest in March, laying their eggs about the middle of the month. Audubon states that they nest in hollow trees on the dust of the decomposed wood, and at other times take possession of the deserted nest of a crow, or of a Red-tailed Hawk. In New England I think they construct their own nest. Mr. William Street, of Easthampton, Mass., has twice found the nest of this Owl. On one occasion it had young, unfledged. Upon returning to get them, a few days later, they had disappeared, and as he conjectures, had been removed by their parents. Another time he found a nest in a lofty pine, and at a height of sixty feet. He saw and shot the old bird. He has often found them hiding themselves by day in a thick hemlock. In the winter of 1869, Mr. Street witnessed a singular contest between a Barred Owl and a Goshawk over a Grouse which the latter had killed, but of which the Owl contested the possession. The Hawk had decidedly the advantage in the fight, when the contest was arrested by shooting the Owl. He has noticed a pair of Barred Owls in his neighborhood for the past four years, and has never known them to hoot from the time they have reared their young to the 14th of February. They then begin about an hour after dark, and their hooting continues to increase until about the 8th of April, when they mate, at which time their hooting may be heard both day and night. There is a very great difference observable between the cries of the female and the utterances of the male. The latter seldom hoots, and there is as much difference between his voice and that of the female as between the crowing of a young bird and of the old cock.
In two instances I have known well-developed eggs of this Owl taken from the oviduct of the female in February. One of these cases occurred near Niagara Falls in the spring of 1852. The other, in 1854, was noticed by Professor William Hopkins, then of Auburn, N. Y., to whose kindness I was indebted for the egg the parentage of which is so unquestionable. It is purely white, almost globular, and, except in shape, hardly distinguishable from the egg of the domestic Hen. It is 2.00 inches in length, and 1.69 in breadth.
Syrnium occidentale, Xantus, P. A. N. S. Philad. 1859, 193.—Baird, Birds N. Am. App. pl. lxvi.—Coues, Key, 1872, 204.
Sp. Char. Adult (♂, 17,200, Fort Tejon, California; J. Xantus. Type of Xantus’s description). Above deep umber-brown, much as in S. nebulosum. Whole head and neck with circular and cordate spots of white, one near the end of each feather; on the scapulars and back, rump, wings, and tail, they are rather sparse and more transverse, but of very irregular form; they are most conspicuous on the scapulars and larger wing-coverts. Secondaries crossed with about six bands of paler brown, each spot growing white on the edge of the feather,—the last band terminal; primaries with seven transverse series of pale brown, or brownish-white, quadrate spots on outer webs, the last terminal; these spots are almost clear white on the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth quills. Tail with about eight very narrow, rather obsolete, bands of pale brown, growing whiter and more distinct terminally, the last forming a conspicuous terminal band. Ground-color of the lower parts dull white, somewhat tinged with ochraceous laterally; everywhere with numerous transverse spots and bars of brown like the back,—this predominating anteriorly, the white forming spots on opposite webs; on the lower tail-coverts the transverse spots or bars are very sharply defined and regular, the brown rather exceeding the white. Face, eyebrows, and lores soiled brownish-white, the former with obscure concentric semicircles of darker brownish. Facial circle blackish-brown, spotted posteriorly with white; across the neck in front, it is more broken. Legs white, with sparse obsolete transverse specks. Wing-formula, 4, 3, 5–6–2; 1=9. Wing, 13.10; tail, 9.00; culmen, .85; tarsus, 2.10; middle toe, 1.30. Length, “18”; extent, “40.”
Hab. Southern Middle Province of United States (Fort Tejon, California, Xantus; and Tucson, Arizona, Bendire).
Syrnium occidentale.
Habits. Nothing is on record concerning the habits of this bird.
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.
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.
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 richardsoni, Bonap. List. E. & N. A. Birds, p. 7, 1838; Consp. Av. p. 54, 1850.—Gray, Gen. B. fol. sp. 2, 1844.—Cass. Birds Cal. & Tex. p. 185, 1854; Birds N. Am. 1858, p. 57.—Kaup, Monog. Strig. Cont. Orn. 1852, p. 105 (sub. tengmalmi).—Ib. Tr. Zoöl. Soc. IV, 1859, 208.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 176, 1865.—Maynard, Birds Eastern Mass. 1870, 133.—Gray, Hand List, I, 51, 1869. Strix tengmalmi, Rich. & Swains. F. B. A. II, 94, pl. xxxii, 1831.—Aud. Birds Am. pl. ccclxxx, 1831; Orn. Biog. IV, 599, 1831.—Peab. Birds Mass. p. 91, 1841. Nyctale tengmalmi, Dall & Bannister, Tr. Chicago Acad. I, 1869, 273. Nyctale tengmalmi, var. richardsoni, Ridgway, Am. Nat. VI, May, 1872, 285.—Coues, Key, 1872, 206.
Sp. Char. Adult (♀, 3,886, Montreal, Canada, September, 1853; Broome). Upper surface brownish-olive or umber-brown. Forehead and crown with numerous elliptical (longitudinal) marks of white, feathers everywhere with large partly concealed spots of the same; these spots are largest on the neck and scapulars, on the latter of a roundish form, the outer webs of those next the wing being almost wholly white, the edge only brown; on the nape the spots form V-shaped marks, the spots themselves being somewhat pointed; below this is a transverse, less distinct collar, of more concealed spots; wing-coverts toward the edge of the wing with a few large, nearly circular, white spots; secondaries with two transverse series of smaller white spots, these crossing about the middle, remote from the end and base; outer feathers of the alula with two white spots along the margin; primary coverts plain; primaries with four or five transverse series of white spots; tail with the same number of narrow transverse spots, forming incontinuous bands, the spots not touching the shaft,—the last spot not terminal. Facial circle much darker brown than the crown, and speckled with irregular spots of white, these either medial or upon only one web; across the throat the circle becomes paler brown, without the white spotting. Eyebrows and face grayish-white; lores and eyelids blackish. Lower parts white, becoming pale ochraceous on the legs; sides of the breast, sides, flanks, and lower tail-coverts with daubs of brown (slightly lighter and more reddish than on the back), those of the breast somewhat transverse, but posteriorly they are decidedly longitudinal; front of tarsus clouded with brown. Wing-formula, 3, 4–2–5–6–7–1. Wing, 7.20; tail, 4.50; culmen, .60; tarsus, 1.00; middle toe, .67.
A female from Alaska (49,802, Nulato, April 28, 1867; W. H. Dall) is considerably darker than the specimen described above; the occiput has numerous circular spots of white, and the tarsi are more thickly spotted; no other differences, however, are appreciable. Two specimens from Quebec (17,064 and 17,065; Wm. Cooper) are exactly similar to the last, but the numerous white spots on the forehead are circular.
Hab. Arctic America; in winter south into northern border of United States; Canada (Dr. Hall); Wisconsin (Dr. Hoy); Oregon (J. K. Townsend); Massachusetts (Maynard).
The Nyctale richardsoni, though, without doubt, specifically the same as the N. tengmalmi of Europe, is, nevertheless, to be distinguished from it. The colors of the European bird are very much paler; the legs are white, scarcely variegated, instead of ochraceous, thickly spotted; the lower tail-coverts have merely shaft-streaks of brown, instead of broad stripes. Very perfect specimens from Europe enable me to make a satisfactory comparison.
Nyctale richardsoni.
From an article by Mr. D. G. Elliot in Ibis (1872, p. 48), it would appear that the young of N. tengmalmi is very different from the adult in being darker and without spots; a stripe from the eye over the nostrils, and a patch under the eye at the base of bill, white. It is probable, therefore, that the American race has a similar plumage, which, however, has as yet escaped the honor of a name; more fortunate than the young of N. acadica, which boasts a similar plumage. This (N. albifrons) Mr. Elliot erroneously refers to the N. tengmalmi, judging from specimens examined by him from the Alps, from Russia, and from Norway. The most striking difference, judging from the description, apart from that of size, appears to be in the whiter bill of the tengmalmi.
Habits. This race is an exclusively northern bird, peculiar to North America, and rarely met with in the limits of the United States. A few specimens only have been obtained in Massachusetts. Dr. Hoy mentions it as a bird of Wisconsin, and on the Pacific Dr. Townsend met with it as far south as Oregon, where it seems to be more abundant than on the eastern coast.
Mr. Boardman thinks that this Owl is probably a resident in the vicinity of Calais, where, however, it is not common. It was not taken by Professor Verrill at Norway, Maine. Mr. J. A. Allen regards it as a very rare winter visitant in Western Massachusetts, but obtained a specimen near Springfield in December, 1859. In the same winter another was shot near Boston, and one by Dr. Wood, near Hartford, Conn. Mr. Allen subsequently records the capture of a specimen in Lynn, Mass., by Mr. J. Southwick, in the winter of 1863, and mentions two other specimens, also taken within the limits of the State. It is not mentioned by Dr. Cooper as among the birds of California.
Specimens of this Owl were taken at Fort Simpson in May, and at Fort Resolution by Mr. B. R. Ross, at Big Island by Mr. J. Reid, at Fort Rae by Mr. L. Clarke, and at Fort Yukon by Mr. J. Lockhart and Mr. J. McDougall, and at Selkirk Settlement, in February and March, by Mr. Donald Gunn.
Mr. B. R. Ross states that though no specimens of this Owl were received from north of Fort Simpson, yet he is quite certain that it ranges to the Arctic Circle. He says it is a fierce bird, and creates great havoc among the flocks of Linnets and other small birds. Its nest is built on trees, and the eggs are three or four in number, of a pure white color and nearly round shape. It sometimes seizes on the deserted hole of a Woodpecker for a habitation.
Mr. Dall obtained a female specimen of this Owl at Nulato, April 28, where it was not uncommon. It was often heard crying in the evenings, almost like a human being, and was quite fearless. It could be readily taken in the hand without its making any attempt to fly away, but it had a habit of biting viciously. It was frequently seen in the daytime sitting on trees. According to the Indians, it generally nests in holes in dead trees, and lays six spherical white eggs. Richardson informs us that it inhabits all the wooded country from Great Slave Lake to the United States, and is very common on the banks of the Saskatchewan. It was obtained in Canada by the Countess of Dalhousie, but at what season the bird was met with is not stated; the Smithsonian Institution also possesses specimens from the vicinity of Montreal. It probably does not breed so far south as that place, or, if so, very rarely. Mr. Audubon procured a specimen near Bangor, Maine, in September, the only one he ever met with.
This Owl, according to Mr. Hutchins, builds a nest of grass half-way up a pine-tree, and lays two eggs in the month of May.
A drawing, taken by Mr. Audubon from a specimen in an English cabinet, represents a nearly spherical egg, the color of which is white with a slight tinge of yellowish, and which measures 1.18 inches in length by one inch in breadth.
The only authenticated eggs of this variety which have come under my notice are three collected at Fort Simpson, May 4, 1861, by B. R. Ross. One of these measures 1.28 by 1.06 inches.
Strix acadica, Gmel. Syst. Nat. p. 296, 1789.—Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 206, 1800.—Vieill. Ois. Am. Sept. I, 49, 1807.—Aud. Birds Am. pl. cxcix, 1831; Orn. Biog. V, 397.—Rich. & Swains. F. B. A. II, 97, 1831.—Bonap. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. II, pp. 38, 436; Isis, 1832, p. 1140.—Jard. (Wils.) Am. Orn. II, 66.—Naum. Nat. Vög. Deutschl. (ed. Nov.) I, 434, pl. xliii, figs. 1 & 2.—Peab. Birds Mass. p. 90.—Nutt. Man. p. 137, 1833. Nyctale acadica, Bonap. List, p. 7, 1838; Consp. Av. p. 44.—Gray, Gen. B. fol. App. p. 3, 1844.—Kaup, Monog. Strig. Cont. Orn. 1852, p. 104.—Ib. Tr. Zoöl. Soc. IV, 1859, 206.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 176, 1855.—Newb. P. R. R. Rept. VI, 77, 1857.—Cass. Birds N. Am. 1858, 58.—Coop. & Suck. P. R. R. Rept. XII, II, 156, 1860.—Coues, Prod. B. Ariz. 14, 1866.—Gray, Hand List, I, 1869, 51.—Lord, Pr. R. A. I. IV, III (Brit. Columb.).—Ridgway, Am. Nat. VI, May, 1872, 285.—Coues, Key, 1872, 206.—Gray, Hand List, I, 51, 1869. Scotophilus acadicus, Swains. Classif. Birds II, 217, 1837. Strix passerina, Penn. Arct. Zoöl. p. 236, sp. 126, 1785.—Forst. Phil. Transl. LXII, 385.—Wils. Am. Orn. pl. xxxiv, f. 1, 1808. Ulula passerina, James. (Wils.), Am. Orn. I, 159, 1831. Strix acadiensis, Lath. Ind. Orn. p. 65, 1790. S. albifrons, Shaw, Nat. Misc. V, pl. clxxi, 1794; Zoöl. VII, 238, 1809.—Lath. Orn. Supp. p. 14. Bubo albifrons, Vieill. Ois. Am. Sept. I, 54, 1807. Scops albifrons, Steph. Zoöl. XIII, II, 51. Nyctale albifrons, Cass. Birds Cal. & Tex. 187, 1854.—Bonap. Consp. Av. p. 54.—Cass. Birds N. Am. 1858, 57.—Gray, Hand List, I, 52, 1869. Strix frontalis, Licht. Abh. Ak. Berl. 1838, 430. Nyctale kirtlandi, Hoy, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. VI, 210, 1852. S. phalænoides, Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 206, 1800.—Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp. p. 16, 1802; Syn. Supp. II, 66; Gen. Hist. I, 372, 1828. Athene phalænoides, Gray, Gen. B. fol. sp. 43, 1844. Athene wilsoni, Boie, Isis, 1828, 315.