302 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1936 



The species about to be described has, like many others, upstand- 

 ing and movable ear-tufts or "horns." The upper mandible is short, 

 curved, and hooked, indicating the bird of prey. The ear openings 

 are large and, in some species, protected by a lid or operculum. 

 The legs are those of most carnivorous birds who live by aerial 

 hunting — strong and feathered to the toes, "which carry short but 

 very sharp, incurved claws. 



In Ceylon, as elsewhere, the ghostly habits, the big eyes, the 

 weird hoots, shrieks, and other startling night cries of these birds 

 have given them a bad reputation, although among the Greco- 

 Eomans the owl was regarded as a bird of wisdom and the particular 

 pet of Minerva. In tlie Indian and Ceylon forests, however, the 

 "devil bird" is generally supposed to be an owl. Certainly it is 

 one of these avian species that emits the strangulated, terrifying 

 screams which spread terror through the stilly night over many a 

 village whose superstitious inhabitants regard the demoniac cries 

 as omens of approacliing evil. 



The collared scops owl {Otus h. hakkamoena) , whose portrait is 

 liere reproduced (pi. 9), is the most familiar of all the Ceylon 

 species, and because it does not avoid man, this little owl is the 

 best known and least persecuted of its kind on the island. The 

 birds mate for life, live in pairs, and are strictly nocturnal, hiding 

 in thick Avoods during the day and appearing at dusk to hunt for food. 

 They subsist mainly on such insects as beetles and grasshoppers, also 

 keeping a sharp lookout for the smaller lizards and mammals. The 

 flight of this bird is noiseless and very swift. 



The predominant coloration of this bird is grayish brown, tinged 

 with yellowish. The facial region, including the erected tufts, is 

 whitish, marked with dark pencilings. Some specimens are grayer 

 (or more rufous) than others. Length, 8 inches; iris a yellow-red 

 or chestnut. 



Two eggs (of a dirty white color) are laid, as a rule, at the bottom 

 of a hole. 



It is only when alarmed or surprised that the collared scops owl 

 raises his long ear tufts, as shown in the present illustration. When 

 in a quiet state of mind the horns are lowered and the bird appears 

 to have a smaller and more rounded head. 



