STRIGRS STRTGTD/K 167 



Centropus. 



An African and Indian j^cniis of Cuckoos wliich liatcli 

 their own C'^^^s ; l)ill stroni^^, nostrils slit-like; claw of hind 

 toe almost straii^ht as in Larks. vSexes alike. 



Centropus senegalensis aegyptius (Gmelin). 



S ? Crown, nape and hind neck black with dark green or 

 blue gloss ; back, scapulars and wing coverts dull brown, quills 

 chestnut with brown tips ; beneath straw colour, lighter on flanks, 

 darker on under tail coverts. r>ili black. Legs and feet brownish 

 grey. Iris red. Wing 180-185 (H.). 



Resident. — Lower Egypt. 



The typical race " C. s. senegalensis" inhabits tropical Africa, 

 Nubia to Senegal. 



STRIGES. 



Birds of prey, mostly nocttirnal ; facial feathering 

 in the form of a disc surrotmdcd b}- a ruff with or 

 without ear tufts ; {qckX on small mammals, birds, 

 insects, fish, etc. ; e^^gs white, rounded. 



STRIGID^. 



Characters as in Order "Striges." 



Nyctea. 

 Large size; uniform white or barred with dark brown: 

 no ear tufts ; tarsi and toes feathered ; frequent open country ; 

 diurnal as well as nocturnal ; nest on ground or on a rock. 



Nyctea nyctea (L.). Snowy Owt,. Gcr. Schncecule ; 

 SiveiL liar fang. 



r( Pure white, rarely without a few brown spots. Iris 

 yellow. ]5ill and claws blackish horn. Wing 400-425. Tarsus 

 50-55. \\\\\ 20-23. 9 barred with brown, larger than ^. Wing 

 435-452. Young like 9 hut barring broader. 



Ranf^e. — Circumpolar ; breeds open country and tundras of 

 N. Europe, Norway to Urals ("also N. Siberia and America), 



