ANATOMY OF BIRDS
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS
CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS
LIZARD-TAILED BIRD
AMERICAN TOOTHED-BIRDS
THE OSTRICHES
THE RHEAS
EMEUS AND CASSOWARIES
THE TINAMOUS
THE KIWIS
THE PENGUINS
LOONS AND GREBES
ALBATROSSES & PETRELS
STORK-LIKE BIRDS
GOOSE-LIKE BIRDS
FALCON-LIKE BIRDS
FOWL-LIKE BIRDS
CRANE-LIKE BIRDS
PLOVER-LIKE BIRDS
CUCKOO-LIKE BIRDS
THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS
SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE ROLLER-LIKE BIRDS
THE ROLLERS AND THEIR ALLIES
THE OWLS
True Hawk Owls
The next in order and the largest of the group are the true Hawk Owls {Surnia), which take their name from their very Hawk-like appearance and habits. They are also birds of the north, although considerably less boreal in their range than the Snowy Owl. They are birds of medium size, ranging between fifteen and eighteen inches in length, with the whole plumage very hard and compact and quite unlike that of typical Owls. They have rather short wings, a long, graduated tail, and short legs with densely feathered toes, while the head is flat, without ear-tufts, and with a very poorly developed facial disk. In color they are brown above, with the scapulars, wings, and tail more or less spotted and barred with white, while the top of the head, nape, and upper back are dull and blackish mottled; the under parts are white regularly barred with brown, except the face and throat, which are whitish.
There is but a single species of Hawk Owl which is easily separable into two or three geographical races. The typical form — the Hawk Owl par excellence (S. ulula) — is known by its light color, the white largely prevailing on the top of the head, hind neck, and scapular region, while the bars on the lower surface are narrower and paler. It is found in northern Europe and Asia as far north as Lapland and Kamchatka, wandering south in winter to northern Germany and accidentally to western Alaska. It frequents especially the open places in the woods and plains where there are scattered trees, hunting in daylight as well as in the evening, the brightest sunlight not incommoding it.
The eggs, which number six to eight or even ten, are placed in a hollow tree, or often in the boxes placed by the natives for the accommodation of the Ducks. Its food consists mainly of lemmings and mice, with occasional birds, as the Willow Grouse, etc.
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