Ural Owl

SCI Name:  Strix uralensis
Protonym:  Stryx uralensis ReiseVersch.Provin.Russ.Reichs 1 p.3
Taxonomy:  Strigiformes / Strigidae / Strix
Taxonomy Code:  uraowl1
Type Locality:  Ural Mountains.
Author:  Pallas
Publish Year:  1771
IUCN Status:  

DEFINITIONS

STRIX
(Strigidae; Ϯ Tawny Owl S. aluco) L. strix, strigis  owl, screech-owl believed to suck the blood of infants  < Gr. στριξ strix, στριγος strigos  owl; "42. STRIX.  Rostrum aduncum (absque cera) basi pennis setaceis tectum.  Caput grande auribus oculisque magnis.  Lingua bifida.  ... Strix differt a Falcone ut Phalæna a Papilione; altera enim diurna, alter nocturnus est. Noctu prædantur aviculis, muribus; die cæcutiunt; pedes lanati ne frigescant; aures amplæ ut percipiant; die aviculis opprobrio expositæ." (Linnaeus 1758); “The type of the genus Strix has by most English authors been considered to be S. flammea [= Tyto alba] of the 12^th edition of Linnaeus. This species, however, is not found in the 10^th edition, so that it is necessary to find a type among the species which are included in that edition. An examination of Linnaeus’ descriptions and synonomy shows that the Strix of the older authors is Strix stridula = S. aluco of Linnaeus, viz. the Tawny Owl, so that on the principle of Linnean tautonomy this will be the type” (BOU 1915); "Strix Linné, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 92. Type, by tautonymy, Strix stridula Linné (Strix, prebinomial specific name in synonymy) = Strix aluco Linné." (Peters 1940, IV, 156).  This is the third diagnosed genus in avian taxonomy. Linnaeus's Strix comprised eleven  species (S. Bubo, S. scandiaca, S. Asio, S. Otus, S. Scops, S. Aluco, S. funerea, S. Nyctea, S. stridula, S. Ulula, S. passerina). The hooting cries of the Tawny Owl are commemorated, sometimes fancifully, in literature and song.
Var. Stryx.
Synon. Aluco, Bulaca, Macabra, Meseidus, Myrtha, Nyctimene, Ptynx, Scotiaptex, Syrnium, Tacitathena, Ulula.
● (syn. Tyto Ϯ Common Barn Owl T. alba) "17. STRIX.  Bec alongé, presque droit à la base; narines longitudinales, grandes; oreilles externe grandes et operculées: ongle intermédiaire crénelé sur son bord interne. . . .aigrettes nulles.   ...   GENRE XVII,  STRIX.  ...  ESPÈCE.  STRIX flammea.  L'Effraie." (de Savigny 1809): based on "Strix" of many ancient authors, "Ulula" and "Flammea" of Gessner 1555, "Aluco minor" of Willughby 1676 and Ray 1713, Strix flammea Linnaeus, 1758, "Aluco" of Brisson 1760, and Strix flammea Gmelin, 1788; "Strix Savigny Descr. Égypte Hist. Nat. vol. i. pp. 69, 113, 1809. Type (by monotypy): Strix flammea auct. = Strix alba Scopoli.  Not Strix Linné, Syst. Nat. 10th ed. p. 92, Jan. 1st, 1758." (Mathews 1927, 278).

uralense / uralensis
Ural Mts. (traditionally the boundary between Europe and Asia).

SUBSPECIES

Ural Owl (liturata)
SCI Name: Strix uralensis liturata
liturata
L. lituratus  blotted, smeared  < litura  blot, smear, wrinkle, alteration.

Ural Owl (uralensis)
SCI Name: Strix uralensis uralensis
uralense / uralensis
Ural Mts. (traditionally the boundary between Europe and Asia).

Ural Owl (macroura)
SCI Name: Strix uralensis macroura
macroura / macrouros / macrourus / macrura
Gr. μακρος makros  long; -ουρος -ouros  -tailed  < ουρα oura  tail.
● ex “Coliou de l’isle Panay” of Sonnerat 1776 (syn. Colius striatus).
● ex “Long-tailed Finch” of Latham 1783 (syn. Emberizoides herbicola).
● ex “Guainumbi” of Marcgrave 1648, Willughby 1676, and Ray 1713, “Mellivora avis maxima” of Sloane 1725, “Mellisuga cayenensis, cauda bifurca” of Brisson 1760, “Oiseau-mouche à longue queue couleur d’acier brune” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Cayenne forktailed Humming-bird” of Latham 1782 (Eupetomena).
● ex "Long-tailed Grosbeak" of Latham 1783 (Euplectes).
● ex “Gobe-mouche à longue queue de Gingi” of Sonnerat 1776, and “Long-tailed Thrush” of Latham 1783 (subsp. Kittacincla malabarica).
● ex “Petite Fauvette tachetée du cap de bonne espérance” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 752, fig. 2, and “Great-tailed Warbler” of Latham 1783 (syn. Prinia maculosa).
● ex “Coliou hupé du Sénégal” of Brisson 1760 (Urocolius).
● "92. COLUMBA.  ...  macroura.  16. C. cauda cuneiformi longa, pectore purpurascente.  Columba macroura. Edw. av. 15. t. 15.  Palumbus migratorius. Catesb. car. I. p. 23. t. 23 [= Ectopistes].  Habitat in Canada; hybernat in Carolina." (Linnaeus 1758) (Zenaida).
● ex “Gobe-mouche à tête bleue de l’isle de Luçon” of Sonnerat 1776 (unident.).

Ural Owl (yenisseensis)
SCI Name: Strix uralensis yenisseensis
yeniseensis / yenisseensis
Yenessei River, central Siberia, Russia.

Ural Owl (nikolskii)
SCI Name: Strix uralensis nikolskii
nikolskii
Prof. Aleksandr Mikhailovich Nikolsky (1858-1942) Russian herpetologist, explorer, collector in the Caucasus, Siberia, Persia and Japan (subsp. Bubo bubo, syn. Carduelis carduelis colchicus, subsp. Strix uralensis).

Ural Owl (japonica)
SCI Name: Strix uralensis japonica
japanensis / japanicus / japensis / japonensis / japonica / japonicum / japonicus
Japan (Mod. English names (early examples including Giapan) were derived from a Portuguese corruption of Malay Jepang and Chinese Zeppen, themselves local renderings of Nippon). The French equivalent is Japon.
● ex “Japonese Eagle” of Latham 1781 (subsp. Falco peregrinus).
● ex “Grue du Japon” of Brisson 1760 (Grus).
● Erroneous TL Japan (= New Guinea); ex “Psittacus erythrochlorus macrourus” of Aldrovandus 12599, and “Psittaca japonica” of Brisson 1760 (syn. Charmosyna papou).

Ural Owl (hondoensis)
SCI Name: Strix uralensis hondoensis
hondoenis / hondoense / hondoensis
Hondo or Honshu, the largest of the four main islands of Japan.

Ural Owl (fuscescens)
SCI Name: Strix uralensis fuscescens
fuscescens
Mod. L. fuscescens, fuscescentis  blackish  < L. fuscare  to darken  <  fuscus  dark, black.
● ex “Petit Pic à Baguettes d’Or” of Levaillant 1808, pl. 253 (Dendropicos).
● ex “Aguila parda” (= ☼) of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 9 (syn. Geranoaetus melanoleucus).
● ex “Worm-eater” of Sloane 1707-1725, “Ficedula jamaicensis” of Brisson 1760, “Figuier brun” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Brown-throated Warbler” of Latham 1783 (unident.).
● ex “Orange-vented Fly-catcher” of Latham 1783 (unident.).