Genus GLAUCIDIUM.
Glaucidium Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 976.
Type, Strix passerina Linn.
Central and North Europe.
The genus Glaucidium differs from Athene in having the upper plumage barred instead of spotted; the cere is swollen and the nostrils tubular; the tarsus is feathered and the toes covered above with bristles; the wing is rather more rounded than in Athene, having a very short primary and having the third, fourth or fifth quill longest or the three subequal.
The genus is represented throughout the Old World and also in Central and South America.
Key to Species
A. No collar; wing over 110 mm.
a. Abdomen longitudinally striated.
a1. Back and wings olive- or rufous-brown. ................G. cuculoides, p. 444.
b1 . Back and wings chestnut................G. castanotum, p. 447.
b. Abdomen barred transversely................G. radiatum, p. 448.
B. A distinct collar; wing under 105 mm................G. brodiei, p. 450.
