. Coloured illustrations of British birds, and their eggs . orm it bears muchresemblance to the harriers. In the size of various specimens there exists a considerabledifference, without reference to its age or sex. In lengththis Owl measures from sixteen to seventeen and a halfinches, in width from thirty-one to thirty-two inches ; thetail is seven and a half inches long, of which half is coveredby the wings, and it is so much rounded that the middlefeathers exceed the outer by two inches in length. The beak is thick and beautifully arched, the uppermandible measures one inch in the arc, the l
. Coloured illustrations of British birds, and their eggs . orm it bears muchresemblance to the harriers. In the size of various specimens there exists a considerabledifference, without reference to its age or sex. In lengththis Owl measures from sixteen to seventeen and a halfinches, in width from thirty-one to thirty-two inches ; thetail is seven and a half inches long, of which half is coveredby the wings, and it is so much rounded that the middlefeathers exceed the outer by two inches in length. The beak is thick and beautifully arched, the uppermandible measures one inch in the arc, the lower is some-what compressed at the edge, with a slight indentation nearthe tip. The eyes are not so large as those of other Owls ;the iris is sulphur-yellow. The legs, as well as the upper part of the toes, are fullyfeathered, the tarsus an inch and a quarter long, the middletoe and claw one inch and three quarters, the hinder thesame, but the claw alone occupies ten lines. The soles ofthe feet are dirty yellow; the long, finely-arched, dusky ■ ..-/- ;. >- CANADA OWL. 141 claws are thin and pointed, and the one on the middletoe has a sharp cutting edge on the inner side. This bird resembles, in general appearance, the diurnalbirds of prey, but its legs are of the usual shape of thenight Owls. The plain colouring of brown and white is very pleasinglydistributed in this Owl, and much more regularly than isthe case in others of its tribe. The region of the beakand the face are covered with yellowish-white feathers, inter-mixed with fine black bristles, which latter are particularlyclose about the sides of the beak and the corners of theeyes. The frame which surrounds the face of Owls ingeneral is very imperfect in the present species ; about theears is an indication of it in the shape of a black crescent;the throat is white; the breast, sides, belly, and undertail-coverts are also white, crossed with narrow dusky lines,as in the sparrow-hawk. The tarsi and thighs are of ayel
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1842
