172 BIRDS OF EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA 



tarsi and toes feathered. Bill pale yellow. Claws black. Iris 

 bright yellow. Wing ^ 160-170, 9 165-180. Tarsus 20-23. B)ill 

 from base 18-21 (W.). 



Breeds. — N. and C. Europe from forest limit south to Pyrenees 

 and Alps, N. Balkans, C. Russia, east to Volga and Urals ; and 

 in Siberia. Chiefly resident. In winter occurs in plains of 

 C. Europe and S. Russia. Rare visitor Britain. 



C. funerea caueasica (Buturlin). Smaller. Wing 157. Bill 

 from nostrils 11-5 (H.). 

 Resident — N. Caucasus. 



Carinb. 



Small; wing under 170 m.m. ; no ear tufts; spotted 

 on upper and streaked on underparts ; feed on small birds, 

 insects, mice, reptiles, etc. ; nest in holes in masonry, rocks, 

 or trees, occasionally on ground. 



Carine noctua noctua (Scopoli). Little Owl. Gej-. 

 Steinkauz ; Fr. Chouette ; Ital. Civetta. 



(J 9 Above dark brown with large white spots, smaller and 

 narrower on crown; quills barred white; tail barred buff; 

 beneath white broadly streaked with dark brown ; tarsus feathered 

 white ; toes covered with hairs ; 3rd and 4th primaries equal and 

 longest. Bill yellow, greenish at base. Feet greyish yellow. 

 Iris yellow. Wing 152-170. Tarsus 30-35. Bill ro-12. 



Resident. — Continental Europe from Denmark to Baltic 

 Provinces south to Pyrenees, N. Italy, Balearic Islands, Corsica, 

 Sardinia, Sicily, Bosnia, Serbia, and C. Russia to about 55" N. 



"C. noctua sarda" (Kleinschmidt), narrower banding on 

 scapulars, has been described from Sardinia but does not seem 

 separable. 



O. noctua mira (Witherby). Upper parts darker and less 

 rufous brown than in "noctua" and brown streaks on underparts 

 darker. Wing $ 153-165, ? 156-165 (W.). 



Resident. — Holland and Flanders, British Isles (introduced). 



C. noctua indigena (Brehm). Brown of upper and stripes of 

 underparts paler and redder than in "noctua" ; buff markings on 



