11. NINOX. 159 



Tot<al 



lengtli. Wing. Tail. Tarsus, 

 in. ill. in. in. 



«. Ad. Ceylon (Cumhif/) 10-5 



b. Ad. Ceylon (Mus. Korv.) 10-5 



e. Ad. Columbo (Sunnhoc) 11-5 



I subjoin a detailed description made from a Ceylonese specimen ; 

 and if proved to be distinct, the bird •will bear the title of Ninox 

 Jiirsiita (Tomm.). 



Adult. Above uniform deep chocolate-brown, the head slightly 

 darker and more blackish ; sides of face uniform with crown, the 

 lores dull whitish at base, but the frontal feathers more distinctly 

 whitish ; scapulars marked with large white sjjots, extending on to 

 both webs ; upper tail-coverts with a few scarcely distinguishable 

 whitish spots ; wing-coverts coloured like the back, and perfectly 

 uniform, the primary-coverts blackish ; quills dark chocolate-brown, 

 the primaries with a few nearly obsolete bands of light brown, 

 shading off into greyish on the outer web, the inner secondaries 

 barred vnth white on each web, some of them being concealed ; 

 tail-feathers clear ashy brown, plainlj- tipped with white, and 

 crossed with five black bands on the centre feathers, six on the 

 outer ones ; throat dusky chocolate, streaked with ochraceous, with 

 which colour some of the feathers are margined ; remainder of 

 under surface dark chocolate-brown, the breast-feathers being mar- 

 gined with white, producing a streaked appearance; the abdomen 

 broadly barred with white, the brown spots slightly tinged with 

 rufous ; leg-feathers brown, mottled with fulvous bars and streaks ; 

 under tail-coverts white, with a few blackish spots ; under wing- 

 coverts deep chocolate-brown, slightly barred with ochi-e, the edge 

 of the wing white, the greater series sejaa-brown, thus resembling 

 the inner lining of the wing, which is almost uniform brown, only 

 the secondaries having a few fulvescent bars near the base ; bill 

 green ; feet dingy yellow ; iris yeUow. Total length 12 inches, 

 wing 8-1, tail o-l, tarsus 1'05. 



JVicobar Islands. Lord Walden has kindly lent me a female col- 

 lected on Trinkut bj' Captain Wimberley ; and I am unable to sepa- 

 rate it from Burmese specimens of N. scuUdata. It has remains of 

 fulvous bars near the base of the first primary, and has six bars on 

 the tail. Total length 12 inches, wing 7*4, tail 5, tarsus 1-05. It 

 seems to be rather smaller than the Burmese birds ; and that is all 

 the difference I can trace. 



China. I have examined a good series of Ninox japonicus, which 

 I will treat of in the order of their localities. I have not j'et seen a 

 typical Japanese example. 



PeMng. The Norwich Museum contains a specimen obtained at 

 Peking by Mr. Whitcly. It is a bird of large size ; and the head 

 varies very little in colour from the rest of the upper surface. Dark 

 bars on tail five. Tarsus tolerably well-feathered to within about (1-3 



