BUBO.
Large size; long ear tufts ; tarsus and sometimes toes feathered; chiefly nocturnal ; generally nest on rocks, some times in ruins or on ground, occasionally in hollow trees or old nests.
Bubo bubo bubo (L.). EAGLE OWL. Fr. Grand duc ; Ger. Uhu ; Gufo reale ; Swed. Bergaf.
? Above pale rufous, thickly marked and freckled with black ; feathers on hind neck rufous with broad black central streaks ; beneath, breast rufous with broad black central streaks, abdomen with close wavy bars and narrow black central streaks, centre of throat downy white ; toes (except last joints) feathered. Iris orange. Bill and claws black. Wing d 465-490 (H.). Tarsus about 6o. Bill about 20.
Resident.—Continental Europe from about Arctic Circle south to Pyrenees, Italy and Greece. Irregular in Denmark; occasional visitor Britain.
B. bubo hispanus Rothschild and Hartert. Rufous colour much paler than in typical form. Wing 440-470 (H.). Resident.—Spain. Has occurred once in Algeria.
B. bubo ruthenus Buturlin and Zhitkow. Intermediate between typical form and the very pale "B. bubo sibiricus" ; rufous paler
as in "hispanus" but black streaks darker and underparts whiter.
Resident.—S.E. Russia north to Central and Volga districts and Orenburg ; Caucasus and Asia Minor.
B. bubo sibiricus (Schlegel and Susemihl). A pale race in which rufous is mostly replaced by white, the long streaks on breast are narrower and feathering of tarsus and feet is very dense. Wing 450-515 (H.). ' Resident.—N. Ural Mountains and \V. Siberia ; occurs in winter south to Orenburg and N. Caspian district.
B. bubo asenlaphus Savigny. A bright rufous race with no barring on sides of head and neck and few dark longitudinal streaks on breast ; abdomen is not streaked but white barred with red brown, never black as in "bubo." Wing 345-375, ? 380-430 (H.).
Resident.—N. Africa (Morocco to Egypt); also Palestine and Syria.
B. bubo desertorum Erlanger. A paler and generally more southern race than "ascalaphus." Residen . Africa south of Atlas Mountains to Egypt.