AVES. 91 



FAMILY, ASIONID/E. 



181. Kdupa ceyloncnsis. (Gmel. Syst. Nat., vol. i., p. 2S7.) Brown 

 Fish Owl. 



The appearance of this Great Indian Owl in Palestine is one of the 

 most remarkable features of the singularly mixed character of the Fauna 

 of the country. Prior to our discovery of its existence near the plain of 

 Acre, it had not been noticed west of India. I obtained one specimen 

 and saw three others in the Wady el Kurn, close to the great ruin of 

 Kulat el Kurn, north of the plain of Acre, in December, 1863. The bird 

 had been roosting, hidden among the dense foliage of a carob tree, under 

 which we halted, and startled by our voices, scrambled out bewildered, 

 and perched on a rock on the opposite side of the Wady. 



The Wady possesses a perennial stream, well shaded by evergreen 

 timber, and with its cliffs full of caves, while fish and crabs swarm in the 

 water and supply abundant prey for the owl. I never saw the species 

 elsewhere, but five years ago a traveller shot and preserved another 

 specimen in the Wady Hamam, opening on to the plain of Gennesaret, 

 thus rendering it probable that the bird will be found in all suitable 

 localities throughout the country. 



Ketupa is a peculiar Indian form. Only three species are known. 

 They are Owls of the largest size, distinguished by their bare tarsi, 

 adapted for diving into the water and seizing their prey. One species is 

 confined to the sub-Himalayan region, a second to Java and Sumatra, 

 Borneo, and the Malayan Peninsula, and the present, K. ceylonensis, to 

 India generally, Ceylon, and the provinces on the east coast of the Bay 

 of Bengal. It was also discovered by Mr. Swinhoe at Hongkong, 

 not elsewhere in China, so that its range may possibly stretch across 

 from Assam to China. But the present is the one isolated instance of its 

 occurrence west of the Indian Peninsula. 



182. Asio otus. (Linn. Syst. Nat. i., p. 132.) Long-eared Owl. 

 The Long-eared Owl is found in the wooded districts, especially in 



the north. It is rather plentiful in the forest district west of Safed, 

 and there are several pairs which breed in the Cedars of Lebanon. 



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