A Synopsis of the Birds of North America

by John James Audubon

Tufts elongated; general colour of plumage buff, mottled and spotted with brown and greyish-white; dirty whitish anteriorly, with the tips black, posteriorly reddish-white; ruff mottled with red and black; upper part of head minutely mottled with whitish, brownish-black, and light red; the tufts light reddish toward the base, brownish-black in the centre toward the end, the inner edge white, dotted with dark brown; upper parts buff, variegated with brown and whitish-grey, minutely mottled or undulatingly barred; first row of coverts tipped with white; quills and scapulars pale grey barred with dark brown, the primaries buff toward the base externally. Tail with ten bars on the middle and eight on the outer feathers; lower parts with more buff and fewer spots than the upper, each feather with a long dark brown streak, and several irregular transverse bars; legs and toes pure buff.

Male, 14¹/₂, 38. Female, 16, 40.

From Maryland eastward, and Kentucky westward to the Missouri. Rather rare. Resident.

Long-eared Owl, Strix Otus, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. vi. p. 52.

Strix Otus, Bonap. Syn. p. 37.

Long-eared Owl, Strix Otus, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 130.

Long-eared Owl, Strix Otus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 573.

38. 2. Otus brachyotus, Linn. Short-tufted Eared-Owl.—Short-Eared Owl.

Tufts inconspicuous, general colour of plumage buff variegated with dark brown; eye surrounded by a ring of brownish-black, much broader behind; anterior half of disk white, with the tips black, posterior yellowish; anterior auricular ruff white, posterior yellowish, each feather with an oblong dark brown spot; upper parts buff, longitudinally streaked with dark brown; scapulars and wing-coverts spotted and banded in large patches, many with a large yellowish-white spot on the outer web near the end; quills buff, with two or three dark brown bands; tail similar, with five broad dark bands, the tip yellowish-white; on the middle feathers, the light-coloured spaces have a brown central patch; lower parts pale buff, whitish behind, the neck with oblong, the breast and sides with linear dark brown streaks; chin, feet, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts unspotted.

Male, 15, 40. Female, 17, 45.

From Texas eastward. Columbia River. Common. Migratory.

Short-eared Owl, Strix brachyotos, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. iv. p. 64.

Strix brachyotos, Bonap. Syn. p. 37.

Short-eared Owl, Strix brachyotos, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 132.

Short-eared Owl, Strix brachyotos, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 273.