Ulula rufipes.
Strix rufipes, King, in Zoological Journal, Vol. iii. p. 426.
I obtained a specimen of this bird from a party of Fuegians in the extreme southern islands of Tierra del Fuego. Owls are not uncommon in this country, and as small birds are not plentiful, and the lesser rodents extremely scarce, it at first appears difficult to imagine on what they feed. The following fact, perhaps, explains the circumstance: Mr. Bynoe, the surgeon to the “Beagle,” killed an owl in the Chonos Archipelago, where the nature of the country is very similar to that of Tierra del Fuego, and, on opening its stomach, he found it filled with the remains of large-sized crabs: I conclude, therefore, that these birds here likewise subsist chiefly on marine productions.
Sub-Fam.—STRIGINÆ.
1. Strix flammea. Linn.
I obtained a specimen of a white owl from Bahia Blanca in Northern Patagonia, and Mr. Gould remarks concerning it, that he only retains the name of S. flammea provisionally, until all the white owls, from various countries, shall have been subjected to a careful examination. Mr. Gould suspects, that when this is effected, the South American white owl will prove to be specifically distinct from that of Europe.
2. Strix punctatissima. G. R. Gray.
Plate IV.
S. supra nigricans, flavo subnebulosa, minutè albo-punctatissima, maculâ albâ ad apicem plumæ, cujusvis; subtus fulva, fasciis interruptis nigricantibus; caudâ dorso concolore, nigricanti-fasciatâ, apice albâ; disco faciali castaneo-rufo nigricanti-nebuloso circumdato, pogoniis internis albis, scapis nigris; pedibus longis, infra genu plumosis; tarso reliquo digitisque subpilosis.
Long. tot. 13½; alæ, 9¼; caudæ, 4¼; tarsi, 2⁷⁄₁₀.
Birds. Pl. 4.
Strix punctatissima.
Colour.—Head and feathers within facial disc, glossy ferruginous brown, those forming the margin of it, same coloured, with their tips dark brown. Back of head and throat smoky brown, mottled with numerous small white dots, on the tips of the feathers. Back and wing-coverts the same, with the white spots larger and purer. Wings: primaries, same dark brown, mottled with dull chesnut red; the tip of each, with the exception of the three first, is marked with a triangular white spot, of the same kind with those over the rest of the body, but larger. Tail, transversely barred with brown and reddish fulvous, and the extreme points mottled with white. Under surface.—Breast, belly and lining of wings, fulvous, mottled with brown;—the feathers being transversely barred with narrow brown lines. Under side of tail, pale gray, with well defined transverse bars of a darker gray. Short downy feathers on tarsi, of a brighter fulvous than the rest of the under surface.
Form.—Third primary rather longer than second; first equal to third. Wing, exceeding the tail in length by nearly one inch and a quarter. Short feathers on the tarsus, extending about one-third of its length, below the knee. Tarsi, elongated. Toes and lower part of tarsi, with few scattered brown hairs.
| In. | |
|---|---|
| Total length | 13½ |
| Wing | 9¼ |
| Tail | 4¼ |
| Tarsi | 2⁷⁄₁₀ |
| Tip of beak to rictus | 1½ |
| Middle toe, from root of claw to base | 1⅒ |
Habitat, James Island, Galapagos Archipelago, (October.)
I am indebted to Mr. G. R. Gray for the description of this species, which is deposited in the British Museum. Only one specimen was obtained during our visit to the Galapagos Archipelago; and this formed part of the collection made by the direction of Captain FitzRoy.
This owl is in every respect a true Strix; it is fully a third less than the common species of Europe, and differs from it in many respects, especially in the darker colouring of its plumage. The colouring of the Plate is not perfectly accurate in its minuter details.