B ubo ig n a v u s , T. Forster*.
EAGLE-OWL.
Bubo maximus t .
B u b o , Duimiritft. .— Bill short, strong, curved, compressed at the point. Nostrils
pierced in the cere, large, oval or rounded. Facial disk incomplete about
the eyes. Auditory opening, small, oval, without an operculum. Wings rather
short, concave; the third and fourth quill-feathers generally the longest. Legs
and toes covered with feathers; claws long. Head furnished with two tufts of
feathers.
* Synoptical Catalogue of British Birds, p. 3 (1817).
f Fleming, British Animals, p. 57 (1828).
J Zoologie Analytique, p. 34 (1806).
F o l low in g the arrangement, of the Family of Owls previously
projected (page 149) the second subdivision of the
first chief group of species is now reached—that in which there
is no operculum or fold of skin overlying the orifice of the
ears. Like the preceding subdivision, this includes as well
species which possess as those which do not possess the
superficial character of “ horns,” and, for the sake of convenience
those which are so adorned are here taken first.
The Eagle-Owl is one of the largest species of the family,
and inhabits pretty generally the northern parts of the Old
World; but it must be considered a rare bird in England,
an example occurring only occasionally, and at uncertain
intervals. Its food consists of the larger sorts of game, such
as fawns, hares and grouse, and also of mice, rats and moles.
Its cry is a sonorous hoot, which has been syllabled by various
writers as “ coo-lioo,” “ ugh-ugh ” and “ boo-boo.”
The nest of this bird is usually on a ledge among rocks, a
preference (as is the case with Eagles when occupying a
similar site) being shown for a southern aspect, but occasionally
in a tree, some six feet from the ground; and also,
it is said, on ruined walls. Those seen by Wolley were
merely holes scratched in the turf, and had no materials
added to the bed thus formed; the eggs of one taken by
one of his collectors lay on the sand against the upturned
roots of a tre e ; but some writers say that the nest is large,
the materials collected being spread over a surface of several
square feet. The female is larger than the male, and produces
two or three almost globular, white eggs, measuring
from 2'48 to 2-18 by 2 to 1’84 in.
Linnaeus, on his journey to Lapland, found this bird and
its nest on one of the higher hills of a district through which
he passed. The nest contained an addled egg and two young
birds: these last were of small size, clothed with long whitish
down. He subsequently discovered two other young birds
of the same species which were nearly full grown, but unable
to fly. Among the many graphic contributions on the
nidification of birds made by Wolley to the last edition of
Mr. Hewitson’s oological work, there is scarcely one superior
v o l . i. z