( 191 ) 



ouly in the finer, less bold biacic marluugs on the upper siirCaco. I'liL thc're is aiiotliur 

 pecnliarity : while in the other forins (/'. m. mcuiadensis and P. m. alliii-entri!i) 

 fox-red specimens are very rare (of /'. m. manadensis only on record two in the 

 Leyden Mnsenm and a few in Dresden) or unknown (I find no record of a fox-red 

 F. m.albirciitri)!), they are evideijtly as nnmeruus as the brown ones ou Wetter. Of 

 four specimens from Wetter in Leyden two belong to it, and of nine sent by Kiihu 

 four are fox-red. These four red specimens from Wetter are as different as two 

 species can lie from the brown ones, being bright fox-red above with narrow black 

 shaft-lines and spots, the breast pale cinnamon, with heavy brown-black spots in 

 the middle of the feathers, the abdomen beautifully mottled with white, cinnamon 

 and blackish. How these fox-red examples differ from those of .S'. m. manatlensia 

 I cannot say, but according to Dr. Finsch they are not essentially different. 

 Mr. Kiihn sent four brown males, one brown female, two fox-red males, and two 

 fox-red females, according to his sexing. They were obtained in Sejitember and 

 October 1002. " Iris snljihnreous, feet dirty grey or pale greyisii flesh-colour, bill 

 black, blackish or ilark horn-culour, lower mandible j)ale (or dirty) horn-colour." 

 (Nos. 5778—5784, 5786, 57Slr^) 



Type : No. 5782, Wetter, 15. x. 1902. JI. Kiihn coll. 



Dr. Finsch unites {Notes Lei/den Mtis. xx. jip. 173 — 177) P. w. matiadensis 

 and P. m. (ilhierntri.s, but if a series is compared the differences are conspicuous 

 enough. In Koti's f^ei/di'it ^fu■s. xx. ji. 177 he seems to cast doubts on my 

 JP. alfredi from Flores, which, however, must be kept specifically separate, because 

 r. ill. (dbircntriii occurs also on Flores — thongh alfredi may be the mountain 

 form. 1'. alfredi (as shown in my description and figure. Nor. Zool. 1808. pi. 1.) 

 differs from the various forms of P. manndensia by its almost uniform foxy-cinnamon 

 n]i])erside with large white marks on the scapulars, very fine mottlings on the 

 abdomen, a smaller and yellow bill (while in the red as well as in the brown 

 P. manadeniii^ and P. tempeatatii^ the upper bill is blackish, the lower whitish 

 or horn-colour), and the bareness of the lower jiart of the tarsus, this last cliaracter 

 not being shown in the jilate but stated in the description. 



57. Ninox ocellata subsp. ? 



The Ninox of the islands of Moa, Letti and Roma are very difficult to 

 understand. They are closely allied and, in fact (with tiie sole exception of a 

 little brighter rufous markings underneath), indistinguishable from the Ninox of 

 Savu, near Timor, which I have called N. ocellata (cf. Nor. Zool. 18U7, pp. 203, 

 264, 200). They are, however, all exactly alike in coloration and markings, 

 and differ only slightly in dimensions. They are above cinnamon-brown, 

 the hind-neck distinctly spotted with buff, scajiulars and wing-coverts with the 

 usual markings of Ninox boohook and ocellata. The underside is white with 

 rufous, or rather cinnamon-brown markings. The wings measure 208 to 225, 

 mostly about 215 mm. The iris is described by Mr. Kiihn as " whitish yellow 

 (whitish pale brown, yellowish with brown tinge, yellowish brown, dull brown)," 

 the feet as " ash-grey," the bill as black with grey base (bright grey with black 

 sides)." Generally they are smaller than ocellata from (jueensland; but these 

 forms are very difficult, and there seems to be a gradual merging from the birds 

 called " boobook " into those called " ocellata," and of both there seem to be 

 some more local races in Australia — for example, a very reddish one in West 

 Australia. 



