to feed. On the 23rd of May, I discovered a nest of this Owl, built'on the
top of a lofty balsam-poplar, of sticks, and lined with feathers. It contained
three young, which were covered with a whitish down. We got them by
felling the tree, which was remarkably thick; and whilst this operation was
going on, the two parent birds flew in circles round the objects of their cares,
keeping, however, so high in the air as to be out of gunshot' they did not appear
to be dazzled by the light. The young ones were kept alive for two months, when
they made their escape. They had the habit, common also to other Owls, of
throwing themselves back, and making a loud snapping noise with their bills,
when any one entered the room in which they were kept.—R.
This bird has the posterior half of its bill covered with cere, rounded or swelled
out on the sides, and very slightly arched on the ridge ; the curved point moderately
compressed, much resembling that of Strix brachyota. Its auditory concha
is much larger than that of S. (Bubo) Virginiana, but very considerably less in
proportion than that of Strix brachyota, though the operculum is larger than in
this bird.—Sw.
DESCRIPTION
Of a specimen, in very perfect plumage, killed at Great Bear Lake, in lat. 65°, supposed to be a male.
Colour of the bill yellow. Irides bright gamboge-yellow. That part of the facial disk
which is next the bill is composed of hair-like feathers, which are black at the base, and white,
with black shafts, upwards : the posterior part of the disk consists of feathers, having short,
distinct, wiry-looking barbs of a greyish-white colour, tinged in some places with brown, and
crossed by black bars, which form six concentric rings round the orbit. Posterior to the disk
there is a semicircle of shining yellowish-brown, barred with blackish-brown, and edged on each
side of the throat with white, having a satiny lustre. This semicircle forms the posterior border
of the auricular concha, but extends beyond it. The whole dorsal aspect is of a dark-brown
colour, irregularly barred and mixed with greyish-white, inferior to the brown in quantity, the
markings somewhat resembling in form those of Strix Virginiana. The spurious wing feathers
are clove-brown, with some slight white mottlings on their exterior webs; and the primary
coverts have the same colour, crossed by three lighter bars. The primaries are also clove-
brown, and are crossed by from six to eight bars, of which the five next the quills are greyish-
white, mixed in a mottled manner with an equal quantity of brown ; the other bars next the
tips are merely a shade lighter than the intervening spaces. The secondaries and tertiaries
are barred like the bases of the primaries. The tail is clove-brown, crossed by eight or nine
bars, which are each formed of two white lines, edged and separated by brown ; the last bar
occupies the tip of the tail. The ventral aspect is clove-brown, with short transverse bars of
white, that do not reach the shafts of the feathers. The feet are greyish-white, finely barred
with brown. Form, &c.—Head large. Bill broad above, tumid on the sides, and scarcely arched as
far as the cere extends, which is half its length; from the cere to the tip it is curved and
somewhat compressed. The cutting margin- of the upper mandible is not sinuated. The
lower mandible is truncated at the tip, and is obtusely notched on the side near the tip.
The nostrils are pretty large and nearly round. The cere is covered on the sides with
hair-like feathers, which curve upwards and conceal the nostrils. The eyes are small, considering
the great size of the bird. The facial disk is large. The concha is also large,
of a transversely oval form, and is capable of being closed by the large flap or operculum
which forms the posterior part of the facial disk. The margin of this operculum
is formed of a dense row of short brown feathers, having flattened quills. The posterior
border of the concha is clothed with feathers, having dense webs, soft and velvety to the touch.
All these are covered by the margin of the orbital disk when the ear is closed. A row of
brown feathers, with white or yellowish-brown tips, mixed with dark-brown, marks the auricular
ring, which, except on the forehead, completely encircles the face. The longest feathers
of this ring are those at the base of the lower mandible. The wings, when folded, reach within
four inches of the end of the tail, or as far as the points of the claws when the legs are stretched
out. The fourth quill feather equals the fifth, and is longer than the others ; the third is a
quarter of an inch, and the sixth half an inch, shorter than these ; the second is upwards of
an inch shorter than the third ; the seventh is two inches shorter than the sixth, and the
following ones diminish each in succession about three-quarters of an inch. The first is intermediate
in length between the ninth and tenth. The two first have the tips of the barbs of
their outer webs conspicuously recurved and separated; and the second to the fifth inclusive
have their outer webs sinuated towards their points. The five first have their inner webs also
sinuated, and the sixth is narrowed towards the point, but not so abruptly as to produce a
distinct sinuation. The tail is wedge-shaped, consisting of twelve feathers, of which the outer
ones are more than two inches shorter than the middle ones : it is very concave below. The
legs are short and strong. The toes are naked beneath, but are clothed above with feathers,
which extend beyond the roots of the nails. There are only two scales at the root of each
nail. The claws are long, slender, tapering, very acute, and not much curved ; the middle
one is grooved beneath, has a sharp outer edge, and a very sharp inner one. The inner claw
has one edge partially acute; but the hind and outer claws are nearly as much rounded beneath
as those of the Osprey. The inner claw is the longest, the posterior and middle ones
are a little smaller, and the outer versatile one is the smallest of all.
D im en s io n s.
Length from the point of the bill to the end Inches. Lines. Length of the inner of the tail . . . . . fore daw In1c hes. Li6nes. 24 0 „ of the bill, measured on the ridge . 1 10 . ,, of the tail . . . . 12 0 „ of the bill from the angle of the ,, of the longest quill feather 15 0 mouth . . . . . . 1 9 „ of the tarsus . . . . 2 0 ,, of the cere, measured on the ridge . 0 10 Kg of the middle toe . l 0 ,, of the diameter of the nostrils . 0 3
Several other specimens were brought home, some of which differ in size from
the preceding; but there is no variation in the colours or distribution of the mark