The plumage on the under surface of the body presents a mixture of white and liver-brown,
in nearly equal quantities, disposed in large and not very well defined spots, the white occupying
the lateral margins of the feathers. The base of the plumage, both above and below,
is blackish-grey. The linings of the wings are white, with some blotches of clove-brown ; and
the insides of the quill and tail feathers are clove-brown, with white spots corresponding to
those on their exterior surfaces. The feathers clothing the legs and feet are soiled yellowish-
white, with some obscure brown markings.
F orm, & c.—Head large. Bill small, almost concealed by the facial circles, curved from
the base, compressed, with an obtuse ridge. Cere short, rounded above, and tumid on the
sides. Nostrils small, transverse, oval. Facial circle complete. Concha forming almost a
semicircle, with a long narrow operculum. There is a fulness of the plumage on the usual
site of the egrets. The plumage in general is unusually soft, the barbs of the feathers being
very slender and open. The scapularies are short; but the secondaries and tertiaries are
long, the latter falling only an inch short of the tips of the wings when folded. The tips of
the wings themselves are an inch and a quarter shorter than the tail. The third quill feather
is the longest, and the fourth very nearly equals it; the second and fifth are equal to each
other, and a quarter of an inch shorter than the third ; the sixth and following ones become
each in succession four or five lines shorter; the first equals the seventh. The inner webs of
the first and second primaries are sinuated, and the outer web of the second is undulated or
very obliquely sinuated *. The points of the outer barbs of the first primary, of those of the
second for half its length, and of those near the point of the third, are reverted. The tail is
slightly rounded, the middle feather exceeding the exterior one by about a quarter of an inch.
Feet, when stretched out, reaching within an inch and a half of the end of the tail. Tarsi
and foes short, clothed by long hairy feathers to the roots of the nails, where one scale only
becomes visible on putting the feathers aside. Nails of moderate size; inner and middle one
of equal length, both grooved, and the latter with a sharp inner edge ; the other two smaller,
and rounded beneath.
D im e n s io n s.
Inches. -Lines. Length from the point of the bill to the end
of the tail, measuring over the crown . 11 6
,, of the tail . . . . « . 5 0 „ of the longest quill feather . 6 6
Inches,
ridge . 0
of the bill, measured along the i
ines.
of the tarsus . . . . 0 10*
of the middle toe . . 0 • 7
of the middle claw • . . 0 6
Three other specimens have precisely the same dimensions and markings on the
plumage. Two of them were killed near the sources of the Peace River, in the
Rocky Mountains,
This is the general form. In one specimen the sinuation is rather abrupt, and deeper.
STRIGIDiE. 97
[27.] 10. S tr ix A cadica. (Latham, Gmelin.) American Sparrow Owl.
Ge n u s . Strix. L in n . Sub-genus. Noctua. Cu v ie r .
Acadian Owl. Lath. Syn., i., p. 149, sp. 38, pi. 5., f. 2.
Strix Acadica. Gmel. Syst., i., p. 296, No. 43.
Strix Acadiensis. Lath. Ind., i., p. 65, sp. 44.
Little Owl. (Strix passerina.) W il s o n , iv., p. 66, pi. 34, f. 2.
Strix Acadica. Bonap. Syn., p. 38, sp. 31.
Sp. Ch . S. (Noctua) A ca dica, magnitudine Turdi Canon, remigibus primoribus maculis albis ter quaterve fasciatis:
secundariis extus immaculatis, cauda interrupts bi-fasciata.
Sp. Ch . A m e r ic a n Spa r row O w l , the size of the Common Thrush, primaries crossed by three or four bands of
w hite spots ; outer webs of the secondaries unspotted; two interrupted bands on the tail.
There can be no doubt that this is the species so admirably described and figured
by Wilson ; and there are circumstances which appear to corroborate the correctness
of the Prince ofMusignano, in referring the Strix passerina of Wilson to the
Acadica of Gmelin, or rather of Dr. Latham, its original describer. The size
mentioned by both these writers is nearly the same. The two white bands on the
tail are not, indeed, particularly mentioned by the latter, who merely designates
them as “ a few white spots; ” but his figure, faulty as it is, represents these
white spots as forming two bands. M. Temminck’s description of the European
Owl, erroneously considered the Strix Acadica of Gmelin, is only applicable to our
bird in its size ; the colours of the tail and of the flanks appear quite different.
The only other northern species, liable to be mistaken for our bird, is the Strix
passerina of Temminck, which he describes as being of the same size as Strix
Tengmalmi. Now, as our Strix Acadica is much smaller, it cannot be the same
with any of the three small Owls described in that author s l\laniul. The Little
Owl of Pennant is so slightly mentioned, that it is impossible to ascertain what
particular bird the author had in view. It appears highly probable that he considered
the two American species, with another found in Sweden, to be mere varieties,
as he states the length to vary from eight to seven inches.—Sw.
This Owl was not noticed on the route of the Expedition, but specimens were
sent from New Caledonia, by Mr. Archibald M'Donald. Wilson observes that
it “ is a general and constant inhabitant of the middle States, but is found most
numerous in the neighbourhood of the seashore, and among woods and pine-
swamps. It rarely comes abroad during the day, but, if driven frqm its retreat, flies
o