History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

56 BIRDS. ACCIPITRES. Otus.duskj' bars. Tail with the two middle feathers dusky brown, others of anash colour. The female has the head ferruginous, the nape with a patch ofwhite, the remainder of the upper parts of the body, including the quills,dark chocolate brown, with ferruginous margins. Lower part of the rumpand tail covers white. Beneath, the plumage isBreeds uniformly ferruginous.among furze. Eggs 4, white. Young like the female.; Montagusupposes that Pennant referred to this species in liis variety of the Ring-Tail,with the colour of the belly entirely plain, (Brit. Zool. i.195.) Feeds onlarks. Has probably been confounded with the Circus cyaneus, from which,however, it differs obviously in the superior length of the wings.It is probable, that the species of this group are more numerous than theyare here represented to be. But the descriptions which exist in several Britishworks being occupied almost exclusively with colour, render the determinationof the species in some cases impracticable. The migration of birdsof this kind is still involved in obscurity ; hence, with reference to the rarerspecies, the season in which they have been observed should be carefullynoted, as furnishing an essential element in the determination of their physicaldistribution.II.NOCTURNAL RAPACIOUS BIRDS.Gen. XIV. OTUS. Horn-Owl.—Tarsi and Toes closelyfeathered.The second quil-feather longest.27. O. vulgaris. Long Horn-Owl. — Horns consistingof fromsix to ten feathers.Otus sive Noctua aurita, Will. Orn. G4. Silo. Scot. 15— Long-earedOwl, Perm. Brit. Zool. i. 203 Strix Otus, Temm. Orn. i. 102—W, Dylluan gorniog— Frequents extensive woods.Length 14|, breadth 40 inches; weight 10 ounces. Bill and claws black,hides reddish. Plumage, above yellowish-brown, with dusky streaks, andfreckled with grey and white ; beneath, dull yellow, with oblong brown spots.Horns about an inch long, of black feathers, with the margins brown andwhite. Willoughby and Montagu state the number of feathers at C, Temminckat 10. The female has a white throat, the whole plumage tinged withgreyish-white. Breeds in evergreen trees or old nests of crows. Eggs 4 or0, of a white colour. The young are of a whitish-red, Avith transverse blacklines. Tail and wings grey, with brown points. Feeds on mice and smallbirds, at night. Does not migrate.28. O. brachyoius. Short Horn-Owl.— Horns of three feathers.Short-eared Oivl, Penn. Brit. Zool. i. 204.—Strix brachyotus, Temm.Orn. i. 99— £, Mouse-hawk, Woodcock-owl, Hawk-owl ; W, Dylluanglustiog.— Breeds in Orkney—A winter visitant in other districts.Length 14, breadth 37 inches ; weight I4| ounces. Bill and claws black ;hides yellow. The plumage, above, is dusky, with pale ferruginous edges :beneath, yellow on the upper part, white on the belly, with long dusky stripes.Quills 25. The two first pointed, the rest rounded. Inner web of the firstand second, and outer web of the second, abbreviated near the tip. Tail, withbrown and yellow bars. Female higher coloured. M. Cuvier (Itegne Animal,i. 328.), states, that the females are destitute of horns. Bewick (BritishBirds, 1. 49.), on the contrary, says, " Of several of these birds, both maleand female, which we have been "favoured with by our friends, we have observedthat both had the upright tufts or ears." Breeds in heaths. Mr Low,who observed the nest in Hoy (Faun. Ore. 42.), found two young ones.