organ of hearing (and upon a strict analysis and comparison of which only a circular arrangement of the subdivisions can be formed agreeable to nature), compels me to adhere at present to an arrangement of the British species under the generic heads admitted by most of the eminent modern ornithologists. The general characters of the family may be stated as follows. Bill hooked, compressed; the base covered with a cere. Nostrils, oval or rounded; placed in the anterior part of the cere, and covered, as well as the greater part of the bill, with reflected bristly feathers. Head large; face more or less flat, surrounded by a ruff or border of small close-set feathers. Eyes large, encompassed by a radiated circle of slender hairy feathers. Toes three before and one behind, the outer one reversible. Claws moderately incurved; long, and very sharp. Plumage soft and downy. GENUS BUBO, Cuv. EAGLE OWL. GENERIC CHARACTERS. Bill, short, strong, bending from the base, compressed towards the tip. The cutting margin of the upper mandible slightly sinuated. Nostrils, large, oval or rounded, placed in the anterior part of the cere. Facial disk small and incomplete above the eyes; head furnished with egrets or tufts. Auditory opening, small, oval, without an operculum. Wings rather short, concave; the third and fourth quill-feathers generally the largest. Legs and toes clothed with feathers. Outer toe reversible; claws long, moderately curved, and very sharp. This genus was established by CUVIER, and contains, besides the Great-horned or Eagle Owl of Europe, several other species, amongst which may be mentioned the Virginian Horned Owl (Bubo Virginiana) and the Arctic Horned Owl (Bubo Arctica) of Dr RICHARDSON and SWAINSON, VOL. I. F both natives of North America. They differ from the other Eared Owls in having the facial disk less distinctly marked, and incomplete above the orbits of the eyes, and in the comparative smallness of the external auditory conch, which is farther destitute of an operculum or flap. Their habits may be stated as nocturnal, though not so strictly so as some of the other genera, as they are not unfrequently seen abroad, and in activity, before the sun sinks below the horizon; and most in the Arctic Regions (which some species constantly inhabit), regularly fly in day-light during the summer months. They are also observed to be less annoyed, and to appear less stupified, when disturbed during the day, than the true nocturnal feeders; and to be so much upon the alert, as seldom to admit of a close approach. They are birds of great strength and activity, and prey upon mammalia, birds, and sometimes fish, which they strike with their talons. GREAT-HORNED OR EAGLE OWL. PLATE XIX. Bubo maximus, Sibb. Scot. 15.-Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 57. No. 30. Strix Bubo, Linn. 1. p. 131.—Gmel. Syst. p. 286. sp. 1.—Lath. Ind. Ornith. v. 1. p. 51.—Raii Syn. p. 24. 1.—Will. p 63. t. 12.—Briss. 1. p. 477. Le Grand Duc, Buff. Õis. v. 1. p. 322.-Id. Pl. Enl. 435.-Veil. Ois. d'Afriq. v. 1. p 106. pl. 40. Hibou Grand Duc, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. v. 1. p. 100. Grosse Ohreule huhu, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. v. 2. p. 882.-Meyer, Tassch. Black Wing Horn-Owl, Alb. 3. t. 6. Athenian Horn-Owl, Edw. t 64.-Lath. 1. p. 118. Great-eared Owl, Br. Zool. 1. No. 64. t. 29.-Arct. Zool. 2. No. 114.— Albin, 3. t. 6.-Will. (Ang.) p. 99. t. 12.-Lath. Syn 1. p. 116. 1.—Id. Supp. p. 40.-Lewin's Br. Birds, 1. t. 23.—Mont. Ornith. Dict.-Id. Supp. Bewick's Br. Birds, Supp.-Walc. Syn.-Shaw's Zool. v. 7. p. 211. Eagle Owl, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 57. 30.-Rennie's Orn. Dict. 159. THIS species, which is equal in size to some of the largest Eagles, is of very rare occurrence in Great Britain; and, in the few instances on record, the birds can only be regarded as wanderers, or compelled by tempest to cross the Northern Occasional Ocean *. visitant. It preys upon fauns, rabbits, the different species of grous, Food. rats, &c.—It builds amid rocks, or on lofty trees, and lays Nest, &c. two or three egs, larger than those of a hen, round at each end, and of a bluish-white colour. According to TEMMINCK, it is common in Russia, Hungary, Germany, and Switzerland. It is also stated to be a native of Africa; but has not been met with in the New World. Its place is there supplied by the Virginian and Arctic Horned Owls. The Athenian Horned Owl of EDWARDS appears to be a small variety of this species; and Dr LATHAM enumerates amongst its varieties, the Smooth-legged, and Magellanic Eared Owl or Jurucatu. This latter, indeed, is now with greater probability supposed to have been a bird of the present species, denuded of feathers upon the tarsi by moult, or some accidental cause. As the rarity of the bird in this country permits so few opportunities of learning any particulars of its habits, I avail myself of Sir Wм. Jardine's interesting observations upon an individual that he kept for several years, and which by his kindness has now come into my possession. See Note on the Great-horned Owl in Sir WM. JARDINE's edition of WILSON's American Ornithology, 2.257. PLATE 19. The figure on this Plate represents a male bird of this species, in the proportion of about three-fifth parts of the natural size. Base of the bill pale yellowish-brown, the tip darker. General descripIrides bright orpiment-orange. Upper parts of the tion. body varied and spotted with black, ochre-yellow, and * I have been lately informed, from very good authority, that one of the above species was killed on the upland moors in the county of Durham some years ago. This specimen was afterwards in Mr BULLOCK's museum. yellowish-grey. Under parts ochre-yellow, with oblong black spots and streaks. Chin white. Thighs deep ochre-yellow, with a few transverse blackish-brown lines and bars. Legs and toes thickly clothed with downy feathers of the same colour as the thighs. Claws very long and sharp, colour pale yellowish grey. Horns composed of six or eight elongated feathers, varied, and coloured like the rest of the plumage. The female is similar to the male bird, except in wanting the white upon the chin or throat, and is superior in size. GENUS OTUS, Cuv. EARED OWL. GENERIC CHARACTERS. Bill bending from the base, and forming an elliptic curve; the cere covering the basal ridge for nearly half the length of the bill. Cutting margin of the upper mandible straight, the under one having the tip obliquely truncated and notched. Nostrils, oval, obliquely placed. Facial disk of moderate size, and complete. Conch of the ear extending from the outer angle of the eye to behind the limb of the lower jaw, the opening defended by a flap or operculum. Head furnished with egrets. Wings long; the second quill. feather the longest. Tail even, and scarcely shewing any concavity beneath. Legs and toes feathered to the insertion of the claws. Toes rather short; the outer one reversible. Claws moderately curved, long, and very sharp; rounded beneath, except the middle one, which is grooved, and with a sharp inner edge. This natural group (of which Otus vulgaris may be considered the type) has also been separated from the other Strigidæ by the great French naturalist, whose recent death the scientific world has such reason to deplore. The members of this genus are distinguished by the completeness of their facial disk, by the great size of the external auditory opening defended by an operculum, and by egrets more or less distinct upon the forehead; their wings also are long and ample, and the second quill-feather exceeds all the rest in length. Their habits are more nocturnal than those of the preceding genus, although one species, Otus Brachyotos, which appears to tend to the Hawk Owls, is sometimes seen flying by day, in lowering and gloomy weather. They prey upon the smaller mammalia (particularly those of the order Glires, FLEM.), and also upon birds, which they capture at roost. Their flight is light and buoyant, and sometimes tolerably rapid. Some of the species inhabit woods and forests, others (in which a slight departure from the type is observable) affect more open districts and extensive heaths. LONG-EARED OWL. OTUS VULGARIS, Flem. PLATE XX. Otus vulgaris, Flem. Br. Anim. 1. 56. No. 27. Otus Europæus, Shaw's Zool. 13. 56. Strix Otus, Linn. Syst. 1. p. 132. 4.-Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 288. sp. 4.-Lath. Ind. Ornith. v. 1. p. 53. 7.—Raii. Syn. p. 35. a. 2.—Will. p. 64. t. 12.— Le Moyen Duc, ou Hibou, Buff. Ois. v. 1. p. 342.-Id. Pl. Enl. 29. Hibou Moyen Duc, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. v. 1. p. 102. Mittler Ohreule, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. v. 2. p. 896.-Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. v. 1. p. 93.-Frisch. Vög. 29. Hoorn Uil, Sepp. Nederl. Vög. p. 303. Long-eared Owl, Penn. Br. Zool. 1. No. 65. t. 30.-Arct. Zool. 2. No. 115. Lath. Syn. v. 1. p. 121.-Id. Supp. p. 42.-Lewin's Br. Birds, 1. t. 24. -Mont. Ornith. Dict.-Id. Supp.-Walc. Syn. t. 23.—Will. (Ang.) p. 99. t. 12.-Bewick's Br. Birds, v. 1. P. I. 46. Italian-eared Owl, Lath. Syn. 1. p. 122. THE excellent mixture of colours in this bird, and the imposing appearance of its long tufts or ears, render it one of the most interesting of its genus. Though not so numerous as the Barn (Strix flammea), or the Tawny Owl (Ulula stridula), it is found in most of the wooded districts of England and Scotland. Plantations of fir, particularly of the spruce |