TAWNY HOOTING-OWL. 441 



are yellowish -white ; the breast and sides longitudinally streak- 

 ed, and transversely undulated with blackish-brown, the latter 

 also tinged with reddish. The legs are yellowish- white, faintly 

 mottled with brown. 



Length to end of tail 14 inches, to end of wings 12 ; extent 

 of wings 31 ; wing from flexure lOg ; tail 6^ ; bill along the 

 ridge 1^^^, along the edge of lower mandible lj% ; tarsus lj§ ; 

 first toe j\, its claw j% ; second toe 1^^^, its claw ^§ ; third 

 toe 1/2? its claw ~'g ; fourth toe ^%, its claw j\. 



Female. — The female, which is considerably larger, resem- 

 bles the male in colour. The bill is light yellowish-grey ; the 

 iris bluish-black ; the claws yellowish-grey at the base, dusky 

 toward the end. The general colour of the upper parts is pale 

 yellowish-red, streaked and undulated with blackish-brown ; 

 many of the feathers on the nape, and some of the outer scapu- 

 lars, smaller wing-coverts, and outer secondary coverts, with a 

 white spot on the outer web toward the end. The lower parts 

 are reddish-white, but otherwise marked as in the male, and 

 the sides tinged with red. In the female, then, the upper 

 parts are of a somewhat duller brown, and the lower more 

 tinged with red ; but otherw^ise the differences are not remark- 

 able. In an individual obtained in June 1885, the oesophagus 

 was five inches long ; the stomach tsvo inches and a half; the 

 intestine thirty inches. One of the coeca was four inches three- 

 fourths in length, the other a little shorter. The rectum three 

 inches and a half long. 



Length to end of tail 16 inches, to end of wings 14 ; extent 

 of wings 84; wing from flexure 11; tail 7; bill along the 

 ridge Ig ; tarsus l^^ ; hind toe j%, its claw j% ; second toe Ij, 

 its claw {° ; third toe 1^, its claw j% ; fourth toe j%, its 

 claw 1*2. 



Variations. — Individuals vary considerably in the tint and 

 intensity of their colours, some having the upper parts of a 

 much duller brown than others, and the lower with more white. 

 As the period of moulting approaches, little change takes place 

 in the colours. 



