Head large, with very small and concealed ear-tufts, or entirely without; facial disc nearly complete; eyes rather small; wings rather short; tarsi and toes generally fully feathered. Size various.
I. GENUS SYRNIUM. Savigny, Nat. Hist. Egypt, I. p. 112. (1809.)
Size usually large; head large, without ear-tufts; facial disc nearly perfect; bill rather strong, wide at base, curved from its base; wings long, somewhat rounded, fourth and fifth quills longest; tail long, wide, rounded; legs moderately long, robust; tarsi and toes densely covered with short feathers; claws long, curved, very sharp. A genus containing fifteen to twenty species of various parts of the world, principally northern.
1. Syrnium cinereum. (Gm.) The Great Gray Owl. The Cinereous Owl. Strix cinerea. Gmelin, Syst. Nat., I. p. 291. (1788.) Strix lapponica. Retzius, Faun. Suec., p. 79. (1800.) Strix fuliginosa. Shaw, Gen. Zool., VII. p. 244. (1809.) Strix barbata. Pallas, Zool. Ross., I. p. 318. (1811.) Strix acclamator. Bartram, Trav., p. 289. (1790.)?
Fauna., Bor. Am. Birds, pl. 31. Aud., B. of Am., pl. 351: Oct. ed., I. pl. 35. Nat. Hist. N. Y. Birds, pl. 13, fig. 29. Pallas, Zool. Ross., Birds, pl. 2. Gould, B. of Europe, I. pl. 42.
Large; head very large; eyes small; tail long. Adult. Entire upper parts smoky-brown, nearly every feather more or less mottled and transversely barred with ashy-white; under parts smoky-brown; feathers on the breast edged with ashy-white, and on the abdomen edged and transversely barred with ashy-white, in some specimens all the feathers are ashy-white, with wide longitudinal stripes of smoky-brown; legs brown, with numerous ashy-white transverse stripes; quills brown, with about five wide irregular transverse bands of ashy-white, in some specimens tinged with reddish-yellow, these bands mottled with brown; tail brown, with about five wide irregular bands of ashy-white, which bands are mottled with brown; throat black; discal feathers on the neck tipped with yellowish-white; eye nearly encircled by a black spot; radiating feathers around the eye with regular transverse narrow bars of dark brown and ashy-white; bill pale yellow; claws pale, dark at their tips. Sexes alike.
Dimensions. Female?—Total length, 26 inches; wing, 18; tail, 12 inches.
Hab. Northern North America. Northern Europe and Asia. Breeds in the vicinity of Montreal, Canada (Dr. Hall); Wisconsin (Dr. Hoy); Oregon (Dr. Townsend); Vermont (Mr. Thompson). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. This is the largest known species of the Owls which inhabit North America, and is restricted on the Atlantic to the Northern States. In Western America its range is not known, but it was brought from Oregon by Dr. Townsend. In the valuable “Sketch of the Zoology of the vicinity of Montreal, Canada,” by Archibald Hall, M. D., the manuscript of which has been kindly and most opportunely placed in our hands by that gentleman, it is stated that this fine bird is a resident species in that district.
2. Syrnium nebulosum. (Forster.) The barred Owl. Strix nebulosa. Forster. Trans. Philos. Soc., London, LXII. p. 386, 424. (1772.) “Strix varius. Bartram, MSS.” Barton, Frag. Nat. Hist. Penna, p. 11. (1799.) Strix chichictli. Gm., Syst. Nat., I. p. 296. (1788.)? Strix fernandica. Shaw, Gen. Zool., VII. p. 263. (1809.)?
Vieill., Ois. d’Am., Sept., pl. 17. Wilson, Am. Orn., IV. pl. 33, fig. 2. Aud., B. of Am., pl. 46; Oct. ed., I. pl. 36. Nat. Hist. N. Y. Birds, pl. 10, fig. 21. Gould. B. of Europe, I. pl. 46.
Smaller than the preceding; head large; tail moderate or rather long. Adult. Entire plumage above light ashy-brown, in some specimens with a tinge of fulvous, every feather with transverse narrow bands of white, wider on the back and most numerous on the head and hind part of the neck; plumage of the breast with transverse bands of brown and of white; flanks and abdomen ashy-white, every feather with a longitudinal central stripe of brown; tarsi and toes ashy-white, tinged with fulvous, frequently unspotted, but in some specimens mottled and transversely striped with dark brown; quills brown, with about six or seven transverse bars nearly pure white on the outer webs, and on the inner ashy fulvous; tail light brown, with about five transverse bars of white, generally tinged with reddish-yellow; a black spot in front of the eye; discal feathers tipped with white, and finely barred with black, radiating feathers around the eye ashy-white, with stripes of brown behind the eye; throat dark brown; bill pale yellow; claws horn-color; irides bluish-black. Sexes alike.
Dimensions. Female.—About 20 inches; wing, 13½; tail, 9 inches. Male.—Smaller.
Hab. The whole of North America. Accidental in Northern Europe. Canada (Dr. Hall); Minnesota (Mr. Pratten); Texas, New Mexico (Dr. Woodhouse); South Carolina (Prof. Gibbes); Florida (Mr. Audubon). Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.
Obs. A species frequently met with in nearly all parts of the United States, especially in the winter. Occasionally we have seen specimens in the woods, that showed no signs of alarm whatever on being approached, and apparently not at all familiar with man nor with the sound of the gun. During some winters it is abundant in Pennsylvania, probably having migrated from farther north. When wounded, this species seeks safety by hopping away quite awkwardly, showing nothing of the courage of the Great Horned Owl, or even of the comparatively small long-cared species (Otus Wilsonianus), both of which will stand up manfully and defend themselves to the best of their ability, while life lasts.