31
S T R IX M M E B A .
Imden*J>izRl<df<<rJokn,MMrrau/.BoojMtiUa'fo the Jl&mrttZfy, Jeouuay4f9SZ9.
STRIGID*. 77
Length from the tip of the bill to the end ofInches. Lb*,, Length of the cere on its ridge
the tail . . . . . 17 0 , „ of the tarsus .
„ of the tail . . . . 6 6 ,, of the middle toe
,, of the longest quill feather 11 6 „ ' of its claw . •
„ of the bill measured on its ridge , 1 4
Another specimen, of the same size with the preceding,
yellowish-brown colour in its plumage, and a bill two lines shorter, with a more
tumid cere. A third, also of equal size, has a bill of an intermediate form between
these two.
[20.] 3. Strix cinerea. (Gmelin.) Great Cinereous Owl.
Ge n u s . Strix. L in n .
Cinereous Owl. L a t h . Syn., i., p. 134, sp. 19.
Sooty Owl. Penn. Arct. Zool., ii., p. 232, No. 120.
Strix cinerea. Gmet.in . Syst., i., p. 291. L a th . Ind., i.j p. 58, sp. 22.
Strix fuliginosa. Shaw. Gen. Zool., i., p. 244.
Strix cinerea. Vie illo t. Erie. M'eth., iii., 1289, No. 43. I dem, Nouv. Diet., vii., p. 23.
Atheeneetoo omeesew. (Real or Indian Owl.) Cr e e I n dia ns.
P late x x x i.
This imposing bird, the largest of the North American Owls, was first described
by Latham from a Hudson’s Bay specimen, deposited in the British Museum ;
and some particulars respecting its habits, communicated to Pennant by Mr.
Hutchins, were published in Arctic Zoology. It is by no means a rare bird in
the fur-countries, being an inhabitant of all the woody districts lying between Lake
Superior and latitudes 67° or 68°, and between Hudson’s Bay and the Pacific.
It is common on the borders of Great Bear Lake; and there and in the higher
parallels of latitude it must pursue its prey, during the summer months, by daylight.
It keeps, however, within the woods, and does not frequent the barren
grounds, like the Snowy Owl, nor is it so often met with in broad daylight as the
Hawk-Owl, but hunts principally when the sun is low; indeed, it is only at such
times, when the recesses of the woods are deeply shadowed, that the American
hare and the murine animals, on which the Cinereous Owl chiefly preys, come forth