A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 3 of 3Baird, Spencer Fullerton
Science
A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 3 of 3
Baird, Spencer Fullerton
Birds -- North America
SP. CHAR. _Adult._ Upper surface transversely mottled with
blackish-brown and grayish-white, the former predominating, especially
on the dorsal region; feathers of the nape and wings (only), ochraceous
beneath the surface, lower scapulars with a few obsolete spots of white
on lower webs. Primary coverts dusky, with transverse series of dark
mottled grayish spots, these becoming somewhat ochraceous basally;
ground-color of the primaries grayish, this especially prevalent on the
inner quills; the basal third (or less) of all are ochraceous, this
decreasing in extent on inner feathers; the grayish tint is everywhere
finely mottled transversely with dusky, but the ochraceous is plain;
primaries crossed by a series of about seven quadrate blackish-brown
spots, these anteriorly about as wide as the intervening yellowish or
mottled grayish; the interval between the primary coverts to the first
of these spots is about .80 to 1.00 inch on the fourth quill,—the
spots on the inner and outer feathers approaching the coverts, or even
underlying them; the inner primaries—or, in fact, the general exposed
grayish surface—has much narrower bars of dusky. Ground-color of the
wings like the back, this growing paler on the outer feathers, and
becoming ochraceous basally; the tip approaching whitish; secondaries
crossed by nine or ten narrow bands of dusky.
Ear-tufts, with the lateral portion of each web, ochraceous; this
becoming white, somewhat variegated with black, toward the end
of the inner webs, on which the ochraceous is broadest; medial
portion clear, unvariegated black. Forehead and post-auricular disk
minutely speckled with blackish and white; facial circle continuous
brownish-black, becoming broken into a variegated collar across the
throat. “Eyebrows” and lores grayish-white; eye surrounded with
blackish, this broadest anteriorly above and below, the posterior half
being like the ear-coverts. Face plain ochraceous; chin and upper part
of the throat immaculate white. Ground-color below pale ochraceous,
the exposed surface of the feathers, however, white; breast with
broad longitudinal blotches of clear dark brown, these medial, on the
feathers; sides and flanks, each feather with a medial stripe, crossed
by as broad, or broader, transverse bars, of blackish-brown; abdomen,
tibial plumes, and legs plain ochraceous, becoming nearly white on the
lower part of tarsus and on the toes; tibial plumes with a few sagittate
marks of brownish; lower tail-coverts each having a medial sagittate
mark of dusky, this continuing along the shaft, forking toward the
base. Lining of the wing plain pale ochraceous; inner primary coverts
blackish-brown, forming a conspicuous spot.
[Illustration: =38256= ½ ½
_Otus wilsonianus._]
♂ (51,227, Carlisle, Penn.; S. F. Baird). Wing formula, 2, 3–1, 4, etc.
Wing, 11.50; tail, 6.20; culmen, .65; tarsus, 1.20; middle toe, 1.15.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account