THE BIRDS OF THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS. 569 



at it at night, which had no effect — or rather not the rZes^VerZ effect what 



it did do was to turn out the g .ard at the neighbouring police harrack ! 



The note is the usual Barn-Owl screech : and, from numerous pellets 

 which I found below a hollow tree where I shot my specimen the food 

 consists entirely of rats and mice. 



Mr. F. ' inn kindly gives me the wing measurements of the two birds in 

 the Calcutta Museum as about 9'1 and 9-6. Ho adds "'both nave the rufous 

 facial disk and tawny spots on the upper surface, and look much like the 

 Barn-Owl from the Cape Verde Islands (variety ins'ilaris) figured ly 

 Sharpe, Brit. Mus. Cat., Vol. II, Striges, plate XIV, a fthe left hand 

 fijure). 



lir>2. SvRNiUM SP? SELOPUTO, Horsf. Blanf., in, p 278 ; ' 3tr. Feath " 

 11, p. 150. 



■ Mr. Blmford says "the reported occurrence of this Owl (seloputn) in the 

 Nicobar Islands is probably due to error." Mr. Hume held the same view- 

 not admitting the bird into his list. 



A sijrnium of sorts most certainly occurs in the Andamans : I have mv- 

 self heard, seen, and horrible dictn^ missed it ! I did my utmost to get a 

 specimen, but failed. 



The first time I met with it was one night in June. There was only faint 

 moo' light and a little mist about rendered this even dimmer. From about 

 fifty yards within the black shadow of dark for st an owl was hooting re- 

 peatedly, the note being a regular Siirnh'.m^n *• tc-wlioo !" I could not work 

 my w-ay into the jungle in the dark, so as a foilorn hope i imitated the 

 " to-whoo!" to the best of my ability, the rather startling result being that the 

 shadow form cf a large owl swooped almost into : y face a few seconds 

 later, and then shied off in the dim moonlight. I fired a snap shot at the 

 disappearing shadow, and thinking I was 'on' him listened intently for the 

 • thud' of his fR,ll. Alas, there was none. 



The next day I searched the whole neigh onrhood on the chance of 

 finding the owl ia some tree. Failing in this I cleared away the undergrowth 

 near where he had been ht oting, so that in the event of his being in the 

 same spot next night I could at least work my way to the place. The 

 owl obligingly fell in with this arrangement, and at dark commenced to 

 hoot away vigorously. I first tried to decoy him again, but he was not to 

 be 'had' twice. I then worked my way gradually into the jungle, which 

 was dark as pitch, until I was right under the bird, in fact he could not 

 have been irore than twenty feet immediately over my head. The hoot 

 heaid at this short distance was of three syllables, the first bein^ a loud 

 snoring croak, inaudible at a distance. In exactly the same m;inner the 

 note of Sijrnntm indrani is a two-syllabled hoot heard at a hundre'l vards and 

 yet consists really oi four notes. \^ ell, I waited and waited and nothing could 

 I see, so adopting a plan by which I once killed a Ninox ohscura, I waited for 



