40 BULLETIN 159, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Family PHODILIDAE 



PHODILUS BADI13S ARIXUTHUS, new subspecies 



Subspecijic characters. — Similar to Phodilus badius badius of Java, 

 but larger; upper parts, lower parts, face, and legs lighter; white spots 

 on tertials, back, and scapulars much larger. 



Description.— Type, adult male, U.S.N.M. No. 174676, Bunguran 

 Island, Natuna Islands, July 16, 1900; Dr. W. L. Abbott. Forehead 

 •dull white, slightly vrashed with russet; crown, occiput, and nape, 

 deep tawny, the occiput w^ith a few pale ochraceous-tawny feathers, 

 which have small roundish subapical dark brown spots; cervical collar 

 ochraceous-tawny, sparingly spotted with dark brown; rest of upper 

 parts tawny, the feathers ochraceous-tawny beneath the exposed sur- 

 face, and marked medially with several rather small dark brown spots, 

 these often alternated with larger white spots, the latter largest 

 toward the distal ends of the feathers and on the scapulars; tail 

 russet, the basal portion of inner webs of the feathers buffy white, 

 all the inner webs (except the terminal portion) barred irregularly 

 with blackish brown, the outer webs sparingly spotted wdth the same; 

 wing quills rather light russet, their tips pale buffy, the outer web 

 of outermost primary and basal portion of inner "webs of secondaries, 

 buffy white, and all the quills barred on inner webs, the outermost 

 primary on both webs, with black, the tertials with long median white 

 terminal spots; upper wing coverts tawny, the greater series barred 

 on their inner webs with black, the inner ones broadly tipped with 

 white, the outer ones with buffy, the median and lesser coverts more 

 or less spotted with dark brown, black, and white; face white, washed 

 slightly with tawny; an incomplete orbital ring, lacking behind, deep 

 tawny; facial ruff" silver}'- white washed with tawny, on the sides of 

 the neck passing posteriorly into ochraceous-tawny, on the feathers 

 of the throat portion of the ruff" with broad scalelike tips of deep 

 tawny; sides of neck ochraceous-tawny, spotted with dark brown; 

 chin and throat white, slightly tinged with tawny, and except for the 

 deep tawny tips on the feathers of the facial ruff, immaculate; remain- 

 der of lower surface, except thighs, between cinnamon-buff and pinkish 

 cinnamon, in places lighter, and more or less sparingly marked with 

 small roundish spots of dark brown; thighs ochraceous-tawny, immac- 

 ulate; lining of wing pale ochraceous-buff inclosing a central area of 

 tawny; "iris dark brown; bill horny white; cere reddish purple; feet 

 pale fleshy; claws brownish white." 



Wing, 185 mm.; tail, 72; exposed culmen, 27; culmen without cere, 

 22; height of bill at base, 19.5; tarsus, 42; middle toe without claw, 

 33; total length in flesh, 261 mm. 



Although we have but a single specimen of this rare owl from the 

 Natuna Islands, it dift'ers so much from the Javan bird that it evi- 



