STRIX, the owl, in natural history, a genus of birds of the order Accipitres.
Generic character : the bill hooked, but not furnished with a sere; nostrils oblong, covered with bristly feathers; head, eyes, and ears particularly large ; tongue bifid ; claws hooked and sharp. Birds of this genus are rapacious. They are seldom seen by day, secluding themselves in the hollows of trees and buildings, and una ble, from the particular structure of the eye, to endure the glare of sunshine. When they do appear in the day, they are pursued and persecuted by a variety of small birds, who combine in their ex pressions of ridicule and aversion, and soon oblige them to recur again to their retreat. During the season of general re pose, they are active in quest of food, which in darkness they perceive with fa cility, and disturb the silence of night by loud and reiterated screams. Their usu al prey consists of bats, mice, and small birds. Latham enumerates forty, and Gmelin fifty species. The following are the principal : S. bubo, or the great-eared owl, is near ly of the size of an eagle, and generally inhabits sequestered and mountainous situations, and the clefts and caverns of rocks, rarely perching upon trees, or seen in the plains. Its nest is nearly three feet in diameter, and its young are seldom more than two, for which it provides ex treme plenty and variety It lives on rats, frogs, and snakes, which it swallows en. tire, and leverets and rabbits, which it tears to pieces. The hair is thrown up in small balls from the stomach, and many of these may be seen in the places of its favourite residence. It is very rare in England. In Italy it has been trained in the manner of the hawk.
S. otus, or the long-eared owl, is four teen-inches long, and is common both in France and England. It haunts moun
tainous districts and ruined buildings, and rarely builds a nest, generally occupying that of the buzzard or magpie.
S. brachyotus, or the short-eared cm-I, is about the size of the last, and is distin guished by the smallness of its upright tufts, or ears, which after its death, are scarcely perceivable, and when the bird is frighted, are considerably depressed ; but when it is at ease, are clearly perceiv able, and in an erect state. Its colour is of a dark brown. It is one of the most beautiful or least disgusting, of the ge nus ; it is often seen in small companies, and sometimes in a flock of more than twenty, and lives chiefly on mice, which it watches with all the acuteness and per severance of a domestic cat.
S. llammea, or the white owl, is four teen inches long, and is frequently ob servable in ruined and deserted buildings, though in towns of great population and extent. These it quits by night in search of prey, consisting of mice and birds. It is denominated the screech owl, from the utterance of a screaming and terrific noise, which is peculiar to it, and is dis tinguished also by a snoring sound during its sleep.
S. passerina, or the little owl, is some times found in France, and is seldom met with in woods, preferring rocks and de cayed buildings. It is distinguished by its activity and clear sightedness during the day, in which it will follow swallows in chase, though rarely, if ever with suc cess. Small birds in general constitute part of its food, and rats and mice form its principal dependence, but are neces sarily torn to pieces by it, as its size is small, and its length does not exceed eight inches.