A History of North American Birds, Land Birds. Volume 3. Robert Ridgway
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Название: A History of North American Birds, Land Birds. Volume 3

Автор: Robert Ridgway

Издательство: Public Domain

Жанр: Биология

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СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      Strix pratincola.

      Gen. Char. Size medium. No ear-tufts; facial ruff entirely continuous, very conspicuous. Wing very long, the first or second quill longest, and all without emargination. Tail short, emarginated. Bill elongated, compressed, regularly curved; top of the cere nearly equal to the culmen, straight, and somewhat depressed. Nostril open, oval, nearly horizontal. Eyes very small. Tarsus nearly twice as long as the middle toe, densely clothed with soft short feathers, those on the posterior face inclined upwards; toes scantily bristled; claws extremely sharp and long, the middle one with its inner edge pectinated. Ear-conch nearly as long as the height of the head, with an anterior operculum, which does not extend its full length; the two ears symmetrical?

      The species of Strix are distributed over the whole world, though only one of them is cosmopolitan. This is the common Barn Owl (S. flammea), the type of the genus, which is found in nearly every portion of the world, though in different regions it has experienced modifications which constitute geographical races. The other species, of more restricted distribution, are peculiar to the tropical portions of the Old World, chiefly Australia and South Africa.

Synopsis of the Races of S. flammea

      S. flammea. Face varying from pure white to delicate claret-brown; facial circle varying from pure white, through ochraceous and rufous, to deep black. Upper parts with the feathers ochraceous-yellow basally; this overlaid, more or less continuously, by a grayish wash, usually finely mottled and speckled, with dusky and white. Primaries and tail barred transversely, more or less distinctly, with distant dusky bands, of variable number. Beneath, varying from pure snowy white to tawny rufous, immaculate or speckled. Wing, 10.70–13.50.

      Wing, 10.70–12.00; tail, 4.80–5.50; culmen, .75–.80; tarsus, 2.05–2.15; middle toe, 1.25–1.30. Tail with four dark bands, and sometimes a trace of a fifth. Hab. Europe and Mediterranean region of Africa … var. flammea.13

      Wing, 12.50–14.00; tail, 5.70–7.50; culmen, .90–1.00; tarsus, 2.55–3.00. Tail with four dark bands, and sometimes a trace of a fifth. Colors lighter than in var. flammea. Hab. Southern North America and Mexico … var. pratincola.

      Wing, 11.30–13.00; tail, 5.30–5.90; tarsus, 2.55–2.95. Colors of var. flammea, but more uniform above and more coarsely speckled below. Hab. Central America, from Panama to Guatemala … var. guatemalæ.14

      Wing, 11.70–12.00; tail, 4.80–5.20; tarsus, 2.40–2.75. Tail more even, and lighter colored; the dark bars narrower, and more sharply defined. Colors generally paler, and more grayish. Hab. South America (Brazil, etc.) … var. perlata.15

      Wing, 12.00–13.50; tail, 5.60–6.00; culmen, .85–.95; tarsus, 2.70–2.85; middle toe, 1.45–1.60. Colors as in var. perlata, but secondaries and tail nearly white, in abrupt contrast to the adjacent parts; tail usually without bars. Hab. West Indies (Cuba and Jamaica, Mus. S. I.) … var. furcata.16

      Wing, 11.00; tail, 5.00; culmen, about .85; tarsus, 2.05–2.45; middle toe, 1.30–1.40. Colors of var. pratincola, but less of the ochraceous, with a greater prevalence of the gray mottling. Tail with four dark bands Hab. Australia … var. delicatula.17

      Wing, 11.00–11.70; tail, 5.10–5.40; culmen, .85–.90; tarsus, 2.30–2.45; middle toe, 1.35–1.45. Same colors as var. delicatula. Tail with four dark bands (sometimes a trace of a fifth). Hab. India and Eastern Africa … var. javanica.18

Strix flammea, var. pratincola, BonapAMERICAN BARN OWL

      Strix pratincola, Bonap. List, 1838, p. 7.—De Kay, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 1844, 31, pl. xiii. f. 28.—Gray, Gen. B., fol. sp. 2.—Cassin, B. Cal. & Tex. 1854, p. 176.—Newb. P. R. Rep. VI, iv, 1857, 76.—Heerm. do. VII, 1857, 34.—Cass. Birds N. Am. 1858, 47.—Coues, Prod. Orn. Ariz. (P. A. N. S. Philad. 1866), 13.—Scl. P. Z. S. 1859, 390 (Oaxaca).—Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 330 (Texas).—? Bryant, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1867, 65 (Bahamas). Strix perlata, Gray, List Birds Brit. Mus. 1848, 109 (not S. perlata of Licht. !).—Ib. Hand List, I, 1869, 52.—Kaup, Monog. Strig. Pr. Zoöl. Soc. Lond. IV, 1859, 247. Strix americana, Aud. Synop. 1839, 24.—Brewer, Wilson’s Am. Orn. 1852, 687. Strix flammea, Max. Reise Bras. II, 1820, 265.—Wils. Am. Orn. 1808, pl. l, f. 2.—James, ed. Wilson’s Am. Orn. I, 1831, 111.—Aud. B. Am. 1831, pl. clxxi.—Ib. Orn. Biog. II, 1831, 403.—Spix, Av. Bras. I, 21.—Vig. Zoöl. Jour. III, 438.—Ib. Zoöl. Beech. Voy. p. 16.—Bonap. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. II, 38.—Ib. Isis, 1832, 1140; Consp. Av. p. 55.—Gray, List Birds Brit. Mus. 1844, 54.—Nutt. Man. 1833, 139. Ulula flammea, Jardine, ed. Wilson’s Am. Orn. II, 1832, 264. Strix flammea, var. americana, Coues, Key, 1872, 201.

      Char. Average plumage. Ground-color of the upper parts bright orange-ochraceous; this overlaid in cloudings, on nearly the whole of the surface, with a delicate mottling of blackish and white; the mottling continuous on the back and inner scapulars, and on the ends of the primaries more faint, while along their edges it is more in the form of fine dusky dots, thickly sprinkled. Each feather of the mottled surface (excepting the secondaries and primaries) has a medial dash of black, enclosing a roundish or cordate spot of white near the end of the feather; on the secondaries and primaries, the mottling is condensed into obsolete transverse bands, which are about four in number on the former and five on the latter; primary coverts deeper orange-rufous than the other portions, the mottling principally at their ends. Tail orange-ochraceous, finely mottled—most densely terminally—with dusky, fading into whitish at the tip, and crossed by about five distinct bands of mottled dusky. Face white, tinged with wine-red; an ante-orbital spot of dark claret-brown, this narrowly surrounding the eye; facial circle, from forehead down to the ears (behind which it is white for an inch or so) soft orange-ochraceous, similar to the ground-color of the upper parts; the lower half (from ears across the throat) deeper ochraceous, the tips of the feathers blackish, the latter sometimes predominating. Lower parts snowy-white, but this more or less overlaid with a tinge of fine orange-ochraceous, lighter than the tint of the upper parts; and, excepting on the jugulum, anal region, and crissum, with numerous minute but distinct specks of black; under surface of wings delicate yellowish-white, the lining sparsely sprinkled with black dots; inner webs of primaries with transverse bars of mottled dusky near their ends.

      Extreme plumages. Darkest (No. 6,884, ♂, Tejon Valley, Cal.; “R. S. W.” Dr. Heermann): There is no white whatever on the plumage, the lower parts being continuous light ochraceous; the tibiæ have numerous round spots of blackish. Lightest (No. 6,885, same locality): Face and entire lower parts immaculate snowy-white; facial circle white, with the tips of the feathers orange; the secondaries, primaries, and tail show no bars, their surface being uniformly and finely mottled.

      Measurements (♂, 6,884, Tejon Valley, Cal.; Dr. Heermann). Wing, 13.00; tail, 5.70; culmen, .90; tarsus, 2.50; middle toe, 1.25. Wing-formula, 2, 1–3. Among the very numerous specimens in the collection, there is not one marked ♀. The extremes of a large series are as follows: Wing, 12.50–14.00; tail, 5.70–7.50; culmen, .90–1.10; tarsus, 2.55–3.00.

      Hab. More southern portions of North America, especially near the sea-coast, from the Middle States southward, and along the southern border to California; whole of Mexico. In Central America appreciably modified into var. guatemalæ. In South America replaced by var. perlata, and in the West Indies by the quite different var. furcata.

      Localities: Oaxaca (Scl. P. Z. S. 1859, 390); Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, СКАЧАТЬ

<p>13</p>

Strix flammea, var. flammea. Strix flammea, Linn. S. N. I, 133, 1766, et Auct.-Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 178. Strix alba, Scop. Ann. 1st, p. 21, 1768.—Gmel. S. N. 293.—Lath.—Daud.—Lep. and Shaw. Strix guttata, Brehm, Vög. Deutschl. p. 106, 1831. Hab. Europe and Africa.

<p>14</p>

Strix flammea, var. guatemalæ, Ridgway. Central American specimens differ very appreciably from Mexican and North American examples, in being considerably darker-colored in the extreme phases of plumage. Eight of eleven specimens convey an impression of decided difference in this respect at a mere casual glance. The extremes of plumage in this series are as follows:—Darkest (No. 40,961, Chimandega, Nicaragua; F. Hicks): The dusky mottling of the upper parts is altogether darker than in any example from Mexico or northward, and prevails, with great uniformity, over the entire surface; the white specks are linear, instead of roundish. On the primaries and tail, the blackish and ochraceous are about equal in extent, the latter color forming five bands on the quills, and four on the tail. The facial circle is bright dark orange above the ears, and the portion below the ears continuous black; the face is reddish-white, strongly tinged with wine-brown, while the spot in front of the eye is deep black. The whole lower parts are deep orange-ochraceous, with numerous irregular specks of dusky, which posteriorly become broken or confused into ragged zigzag transverse mottlings, while on the lower tail-coverts they form irregular transverse bars. Wing-formula, 2, 1–3. Wing, 13.00; tail, 5.90; culmen, .85; tarsus, 2.90; middle toe, 1.50. Lightest (No. 41,252, ♂, San José, Costa Rica, Aug. 23, 1865; José C. Zeledon): The dark tint above, though prevalent, is a continuous wash of grayish, instead of a fine mottling of blackish and white; the white specks are nearly obsolete. The wings are superficially plain grayish, this overlaying the ground-color of ochraceous-orange; and have visible spots only on the primaries, near their shafts. The tail has four rather distinct grayish bands. The facial circle is ochraceous, somewhat darker across the foreneck; the face white, with the ante-orbital spot claret-brown. Entire lower parts immaculate pure white. Wing-formula, 2, 1=3. Wing, 12.30; tail, 5.30; culmen, .70; tarsus, 2.75; middle toe, 1.45.

No. 24,283, Nicaragua, (Captain J. M. Dow,) is like the specimen just described, in the uniform dark wash of the upper parts, but this is deeper; the lower parts, however, are quite different, being ochraceous-orange, instead of pure white.

The remaining five specimens (from San Salvador, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua) are alike, and differ from northern birds in the deeper dark mottling of the upper parts; the white specks very conspicuous, and usually sagittate. The facial circle deep black where it crosses the foreneck. The lower parts vary in color from nearly pure white to deep orange-rufous; the dark markings of the lower surface are larger, more angular, and more transverse than in true pratincola. The wing measures 11.30–13.00; tarsus, 2.55–2.95. The northern form varies from 12.50–13.00 (wing) and 2.50–2.85 (tarsus). It is thus seen that while these southern birds average smaller in general dimensions, they have actually larger feet, the average length of the tarsus being 2.80 in the Central American series, and only 2.60 in the northern series. This exactly coincides with the case of Sturnella, the S. magna var. mexicana of the same region being smaller bodied and shorter winged than var. magna of the United States, but with much larger feet, see p.

<p>15</p>

Strix flammea, var. perlata. Strix perlata, Licht. Verz. Doubl. 59, 1823.—Tschudi, Av. Consp. Wiegm. Archiv. 267, 1844.—Hartt. Syst. Ind. Azara. p. 3.—Max. Beitr. III, 263 (excl. syn.).—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 180 (excl. syn.). Strix flammea, Darwin, Zool. Beag. 34.—Schomb. Verz. Faun. Brit. Guian. p. 732.—Spix, Av. Bras. I, 21.

This is a still further differentiated or more appreciably modified race. It differs in smaller size (wing, 11.70–12.50; tail, 4.80–5.20; tarsus, 2.40–2.75) and more square tail, while the colors also present constant differences. The tail is much lighter compared with the wings, the bands narrower and more sharply defined, though the same in number.

<p>16</p>

Strix flammea, var. furcata. Strix furcata, Temm. Pl. Col. 432, 1838.—D’Orb. Hist. Nat. Cuba Ois. p. 34. Hab. West Indies (Cuba and Jamaica).

This form is the most distinctly characterized of all the races of S. flammea which we have examined. It has the general plumage decidedly lighter and less rufous, while the secondaries and tail are abruptly lighter than the adjacent parts, and usually free from bands, though there are sometimes traces of them.

All the American races of Strix flammea differ very decidedly from the European form (var. flammea) in much larger size. The differences in color are not so appreciable, and there is hardly any certain difference in this respect. The extreme phases, however, appear to be darker in the var. flammea than in the var. pratincola. The supposed differences in the character of the feathers fringing the operculum, insisted on by MacGillivray (History of British Birds, III, 1840, p. 473), I am unable to appreciate, for I cannot find that they differ in the least in the two races. That excellent ornithologist states that in the American “species” the feathers of the operculum are reduced to a simple tube, having neither filaments nor shaft, while in the European bird they are perfect feathers, with all their parts complete. Though this may have been the case with the one or more specimens of pratincola examined by Mr. MacGillivray, I have yet to see an American specimen which has not the feathers of the operculum just as perfectly developed as in European examples.

<p>17</p>

Strix flammea, var. delicatula. Strix delicatula, Gould, P. Z. S. 1836, 140.—Ib. B. Australia, I, pl. xxxi.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. 1855, 180. Hab. Australia.

<p>18</p>

Strix flammea, var. javanica. Strix javanica, Gmel. S. N. I, 295, 1789.—Lath. Ind. Orn. p. 64, and Gen. Hist. I, 357.—Horsf. L. Trans. XIII, 139.—Gray, Gen. B. fol. sp. 5, pl. xv.—Sykes, P. Comm. Zoöl. Soc. pl. ii, 81.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 180. Phodilus javanicus, Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. XIX, 513. Strix flammea, Pears. & Blyth. Hab. Java and Southern India, and Eastern Africa.

I have been unable to find any description of this form, and believe it to be unnamed. It is certainly not the S. dominicensis, Gmel. (S. N. 296, S. domingensis, Müll. Gray’s Hand List, 43, No. 438), not S. fusca, Vieill. (Gray’s Hand List, No. 439). The type is in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural History, and belongs to the Lafresnaye collection (No. 787).