Adult with the upper parts pale brown, spotted and dotted with brownish-black; a pale grey line from the base of the upper mandible over each eye; quills light brownish-grey, barred with brownish-black, their coverts dark brown, secondary coverts with the tip white; throat yellowish-grey, lower parts light grey, patched and sprinkled with brownish-black; tail-feathers tinged with red. Young with the upper parts light brownish-red, each feather with a central blackish-brown line; tail and quills barred with dull brown; a line over the eye, and the tips of the secondary coverts reddish-white; breast and sides light yellowish-grey, spotted and lined with brownish-black and bright reddish-brown, the rest of the lower parts yellowish-grey, the tarsal feathers pale yellowish-red.
Male, 10, 22. Female, 10, 23.
From Texas eastward. Columbia River. Resident. Abundant.
Mottled Owl, Strix nævia, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. iii. p. 16. Adult.
Red Owl, Strix Asio, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. v. p. 83. Young.
Mottled and Red Owl, Strix Asio, Nutt. Man. v. i. p. 120.
Little Screech Owl, Strix Asio, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. i. p. 486; v. v. p. 392.
FAMILY VI CAPRIMULGINÆ. GOATSUCKERS.
Mouth opening to beneath the centre of the eyes; bill much depressed, generally feeble, the horny part being small; upper mandible with the tip somewhat decurved. Nostrils elliptical, prominent, marginate. Eyes extremely large. Aperture of ear elliptical, very large. Head of extreme breadth, depressed; body very slender. Feet very small; tarsus partially feathered, scaly; anterior toes webbed at the base; hind toe small, and versatile, all scutellate above; claw of third toe generally elongated, with the inner margin thin and pectinate. Plumage very soft and blended. Wings very long, the second and third quills longest. Tail long, of ten feathers. Œsophagus rather wide, without crop; stomach very large, roundish, its muscular coat very thin, and composed of a single series of strong fasciculi; epithelium very hard, with longitudinal rugæ; intestine short and wide; cœca large, oblong, narrow at the base; cloaca globular. Trachea of nearly uniform width, without inferior laryngeal muscles. Nest on the ground, or in hollow trees. Eggs generally two. Young covered with down. Very nearly allied in some respects to the Owls.
GENUS I. CAPRIMULGUS, Linn. GOATSUCKER.
Bill feeble, gape extending to beneath the posterior angle of the eye. Nostrils elliptical, prominent. Wings long, pointed, the second quill longest; tail long. Claw of middle toe pectinate. Along the base of the bill on each side, a series of feathers having very strong shafts, terminating in an elastic filamentous point, and with the barbs or lateral filaments extremely slender, distant, and not extended beyond the middle of the shaft. Plumage very soft and blended. Wings long and pointed, the second quill longest; tail long, rounded.