Variety, magellanicus. Strix magellanicus. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. p. 286. (1788.) Buff. Pl. Enl., I. pl. 385. Strix nacurutu. Vieill., Nouv. Dict., VII. p. 44. (1817.) Bubo ludovicianus. Daudin, Traité d’Orn, II. p. 210?
Very similar to the common bird of eastern North America, and has all the plumage at base fulvous, very variable in color, frequently lighter than the common variety, but sometimes very dark; plumage behind the eyes, generally pale cinereous, but in some specimens more or less tinged with fulvous.
This variety inhabits, apparently, the whole of South America, and, probably, also southern North America.
Dimensions. Female.—Total length, 22 to 25 inches; wing 15 to 16; tail, 10 inches. Male, total length, 19 to 21 inches; wing, 14 to 15; tail, 9 inches. The western and southern varieties producing smaller specimens than the eastern and northern.
Hab. The whole of North America, western South America; Hudson’s Bay (Richardson); Canada (Dr. Hall); Wisconsin (Dr. Hoy); Washington territory (Dr. Cooper); Minnesota (Mr. Pratten); Vermont (Mr. Thompson); Oregon (Dr. Townsend); California (Dr. Heermann); Texas (Mr. Schott); Indian territory (Dr. Woodhouse); Mexico (Lieut. Couch). Breeds in Pennsylvania and northward. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. With numerous specimens before us from various parts of America, we are unable to recognise any differences sufficient to establish specific distinctions, and we have therefore provisionally designated the above four varieties. All of them vary considerably in shade of color in different specimens.
This is the largest owl of North America, except one, the Great Cinereous Owl (Syrnium cinereum) and, like several other species of large birds, retreats before the progress of the settlement of the country. Formerly abundant, it is now comparatively rare in the more thickly populated states, and appears almost entirely as a wanderer in winter.
Specimens are not frequently seen so dark nor so large as represented in Mr. Audubon’s plate.
II. GENUS SCOPS. Savigny, Nat. Hist. Egypt, I. p. 105. (1809.)
EPHIALTES. Keyserling and Blasius, Wirbelth. Eur. p. 33. (1840.)
Size, small; head, large, with conspicuous ear-tufts; facial disc, imperfect above the eyes; bill, short, curved, nearly covered by projecting feathers; wings, long; tail, short, and generally slightly curved inwards; tarsi, rather long, and more or less covered; toes, long, partially covered with hair-like feathers; claws, rather long, curved, strong. General form short and compact. A genus containing about twenty-five species of small Owls of all parts of the world, except Australia.
1. Scops asio. (Linn.) The Mottled Owl. The Red Owl. The Screech Owl. Strix asio. Linn. Syst. Nat., I. p. 132. (1766.) Strix nævia. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. p. 289. (1788.) Bubo striatus. Vieill., Ois d’Am. Sept., I. p. 54. (1807.)
Catesby’s Carolina, I. pl. 7. Vieill., Ois. d’Am. Sept., I. pl. 21. Temm., Pl. Col. 80. Wilson, Am. Orn., pl. 19, fig. 1.; pl. 42, fig. 1. Aud., B. of Am., pl. 97. Oct. ed., I. pl. 40. Nat. Hist. N. Y., pl. 12, figs. 25, 26.
Short and compact; head, large; ear-tufts, prominent; wing, with the fourth quill slightly longest; tail, short, somewhat curved inwards; tarsi, long, fully clothed with feathers; toes, hairy. Adult. Entire plumage above, pale ashy-brown, nearly every feather with a longitudinal line, or stripe of dark brown, nearly black, and irregularly mottled, and with irregular transverse lines of brown, more or less tinged with ashy. Under parts, ashy-white, every feather with a longitudinal stripe of brownish black and with transverse lines of the same color; face and throat and tarsi ashy-white, irregularly lined and mottled with pale brownish; quills, brown, with transverse bands, nearly white on the outer webs, and pale ashy brown on their inner webs; tail, pale ashy-brown, with about ten transverse narrow bands of pale cinereous with a tinge of reddish; under wing-coverts, white, the larger tipped with black; bill and claws, light horn-color; irides, yellow. Younger. Entire upper parts, pale brownish-red, some feathers, especially on the head and scapulars, having longitudinal lines of brownish-black; under parts, white, some feathers with longitudinal stripes and lines of reddish-brown; feathers before the eyes, throat, under wing-coverts, and tarsi, white, frequently with a tinge of reddish; quills, reddish-brown, with transverse bands rufous on the outer webs, ashy on their inner; tail, rufous, with brown bands deeper on the inner webs. Young. Upper parts, except the head, rufous; head and entire under parts transversely striped with ashy-white and pale brown. Very Young. Entire plumage transversely striped with ashy-white and pale brown, tinged with rufous on the wings and tail; white nearly pure on under surface of the body.
Dimensions. Total length, 9½; to 10 inches; wing, 7; tail, 3½ inches. Male but slightly smaller.
Hab. The whole of North America; Greenland (Fabricius); Canada (Dr. Hall); Minnesota (Mr. Pratten); Ohio (Prof. Kirtland); Oregon (Dr. Townsend); California (Dr. Heermann); Long Island (Mr. Giraud); South Carolina (Prof. Gibbes); Indian Territory (Dr. Woodhouse). Breeds in Pennsylvania. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.