broad, and strong, affording a permanent support to tlie
shoulders.
By an extended examination of the different species of
Buzzards and Harriers, it will be found that the characters
described as necessary to produce rapid flight decline gradually.
The sternum decreases in size, the keel loses part
of its depth, the coracoid bones and furcula become more
slight; while the form of the cranium, the loose ruffled feathers
of the neck, as well as the softer and more downy
texture of the plumage generally, indicate an approach to the
family next in succession.
A representation of the sternum of an Owl will be inserted
as a vignette to one of the species, to afford a comparative
view of the size and structure of the same part in the diurnal
and nocturnal Birds of Prey.
1UPTORES. STRIG1DÆ.
EAGLE OWL.
Strix Bubo,
Bubo maximus,
Strix Bubo,
Eagle Owl, P enn. Brit. Zool. vol. i. p. 254.
Great-eared Owl, M ontagu, Ornith. Diet.
Eagle Owl, B ewick, British Birds, vol. i. p. 56.
,, ,, F lem. Brit. An. p. 57.
,, ,, S elby, Brit. Ornith. vol. i. p. 82.
,, ,, J enyns, Brit. Vert. p. 90.
,, ,, G ould, Birds of Europe, pt. vi.
Hibou Grand Due, T emm. Man. d’Ornith. vol. i. p. 100.
B ubo. Generic Character's.—Head furnished with two tufts of feathers.
Bill short, strong, curved, compressed at the point. Nostrils pierced in the