A Synopsis of the Birds of North America. John James Audubon

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СКАЧАТЬ line sloping to beyond the cere, then decurved, the sides sloping, the edge with a festoon a little anterior to the nostril, the tip acute; lower mandible with the dorsal line ascending and convex, the tip rounded. Nostrils large, ovato-oblong, with an oblique ridge from their upper edge. Head of moderate size, oblong, neck rather short; body slender. Legs long and slender; tarsi long, compressed, anteriorly and posteriorly scutellate; toes slender, scutellate unless at the base; claws long, compressed, moderately curved, flat beneath, acuminate. Plumage very soft; a distinct ruff of narrow feathers from behind the eye on each side to the chin, the aperture of the ear being very large. Wings long, much rounded, the fourth quill longest; outer four quills with their inner webs sinuate. Tail straight, long, slightly rounded. Quills and tail-feathers covered with velvety down.

      26. 1. Circus cyaneus, Linn. Common Harrier.

      Plate CCCLVI. Fig. 1. Male. Fig. 2. Female. Fig. 3. Young.

      Adult male light ash-grey; abdomen, tail-coverts, lower wing-coverts, inner webs of secondary quills and tail-feathers, white, primaries black toward the end. Female umber-brown above, head, hind neck and scapulars, streaked with light red; tail-coverts white; tail banded with light red; lower parts light yellowish-red, the neck streaked with brown. Young like the female, but lighter.

      Male, 19³/₄, 44. Female, 20¹/₂, 46³/₄.

      Breeds from Texas northward. Columbia River.

      Marsh Hawk, Falco uliginosus, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. vi. p. 67. Young Female.

      Falco cyaneus, Bonap. Amer. Orn. v. ii. p. 30.

      Hen-Harrier or Marsh Hawk, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 109.

      Marsh Hawk, Falco cyaneus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 396.

      Buteo (Circus) cyaneus? var? Americanus, American Hen-Harrier, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 55.

      FAMILY III. STRIGINÆ. OWLS.

      Bill very short, strong, cerate; upper mandible with the tip elongated and decurved; lower mandible with the end rounded and thin-edged. Head extremely large, owing to the wide separation of the tables of the cranium, roundish, more or less vertically flattened behind, feathered. Eyes excessively large, with prominent superciliary ridges, and encircled by series of decomposed feathers. External aperture of ear always very large, frequently excessive, simple or operculate. Tarsus short, very short, or of moderate length, always feathered, as are the toes, of which the outer is versatile, the first shorter than the second, the anterior free; claws very long, slender, curved, extremely acute. Plumage very full and soft. Wings long, broad, rounded, the second, third, and fourth quills longest, the filaments of the outer more or less enlarged and recurved at the end. Tail broad, rather short or of moderate length, of twelve feathers. Œsophagus very wide, without crop or dilatation; stomach very large, round, somewhat membranous, its muscular fasciculi being placed in a single series; intestine short and wide; cœca large, oblong, obtuse, narrowed at the base. Young at first covered with light-coloured down, when fledged, with the face darker than that of adults. Eggs white, somewhat globular or broadly ovate, from four to six. Nests rudely constructed, in hollow trees, on branches, in buildings, or on the ground.

      GENUS I. SURNIA, Dumeril. DAY-OWL.

      Bill very short, strong, its upper outline decurved from the base; lower mandible abruptly rounded, with a sinus on each side. Nostrils elliptical, rather large. Aperture of ear elliptical, simple, not more than half the height of the head. Feet strong; tarsi very short or of moderate length. Plumage rather dense; facial disks incomplete above. Wings very large, the third quill longest, the first with the filaments thickened and a little free, but scarcely recurved at the end. Tail varying in length.

      27. 1. Surnia funerea, Gmel. Hawk Day-Owl.—Hawk Owl.

      Plate CCCLXXVIII. Male and Female.

      Tail long, much rounded, the lateral feathers two inches shorter than the middle. Upper part of head brownish-black, closely spotted with white, hind neck black, with two broad longitudinal bands of white spots; rest of upper parts dark brown, spotted with white; tail with eight transverse bars of white, the feathers tipped with the same; facial disks greyish-white, margined with black; lower parts transversely barred with brown and dull white.

      Male, 15³/₄, 31¹/₂. Female, 17¹/₂.

      From New Jersey on the east, and from Columbia River on the west, northward; but not in the central plains. Migratory.

      Hawk Owl, Strix hudsonica, Wils. v. vi. p. 64.

      Strix funerea, Bonap. Syn. p. 35.

      Hawk Owl, Strix funerea, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 115.

      28. 2. Surnia nyctea, Linn. Snowy Day-Owl.—Snowy Owl.

      Plate CXXI. Male and Female.

      Tail rather long, moderately rounded; plumage white; head and back spotted; wings, tail, and lower parts barred with dusky brown. Young pure white. Individuals vary much in markings.

      Male, 21, 53. Female, 26, 65.

      From South Carolina on the east, and Columbia River on the west, northward. Migratory.

      Snowy Owl, Strix nyctea, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 116.

      Snowy Owl, Strix nyctea, Aud. Amer. Orn. v. ii. p. 135: v. v. p. 382.

      29. 3. Surnia passerina, Linn. Passerine Day-Owl.—Little Night Owl.

      Plate CCCCXXXII. Fig. 3. Female.

      Tail rather short, arched, nearly even; wings almost as long as the tail, the outer four quills cut out on the inner web, the outer five sinuated on the outer; filaments of the first free and slightly recurved, as are those of the second and third beyond the sinus. General colour of upper parts chocolate-brown, the feather of the head with an oblong median white mark; hind neck with very large white spots, forming a conspicuous patch; on the back most of the feathers with a single large subterminal roundish spot, as is the case with the scapulars and wing-coverts, most of which, however, have two or more spots; quills with marginal reddish-white spots on both webs, the third with six on the outer and four on the inner, with two very faint pale bars toward the end; the tail similarly marked with four bands of transversely oblong, reddish-white spots; feathers of the anterior part of the disk whitish, with black shafts, of the lower part whitish, of the hind part brown tipped with greyish-white; a broad band of white crossing the throat, and curving upwards on either side to the ear; a patch of white on the lower part of the fore-neck; between these a brownish-grey band. Lower parts dull yellowish-white, each feather with a broad longitudinal band of chocolate-brown; abdomen and lower tail-coverts unspotted; tarsal feathers dull white.

      Female, 10¹/₂; wing from flex. 6¹/₄; tail 3¹/₂.

      From Nova Scotia eastward. Rather rare.

      Little Night Owl, Strix passerina, Aud. v. v. p. 269.

      31. 5. Surnia cunicularia, Gmel. Burrowing Day-Owl.

      Plate CCCCXXXII. Fig. 1. Male. Fig. 2. Female.

      Feet rather long, slender; tarsus covered with short soft feathers, of which the shafts only remain toward the lower part; toes short, their upper surface covered with bristles or the СКАЧАТЬ