258 On Dr. Jei'don's ' Birds of India.' 



80. Glaucidium brodiei. 



Obtained by Col. Tickell in the mountainous interior of the 

 Tenasserim provinces (J. A. S. B. xxviii. p. 416). Athene syl- 

 vatica (Miiller), Bonaparte (Consp. Av. i. p. 40)^ would appear 

 to be an equally diminutive species inhabiting Sumatra. 



It will be remarked that a large proportion of the diurnal 

 birds of prey are common to India and Europe — in fact, all of 

 the ordmary European species, except Archibuteo lagopus, Ha- 

 liaetus albicilla, and Milvus ictinus, perhaps also Aquila ncevia as 

 distinguished from A. clanga of Pallas; while the only Euro- 

 pean Owls which extend to India are Otus brachyotus, and in 

 the Himalaya only O. vulgaris, and, as extreme rarities just 

 within the Indian boundary, Bubo maximiis and Athene pej'sica. 

 The small Indian and East Asiatic Scops-Owl is barely separa- 

 ble from the European race, but is commonly of a bright cin- 

 namon or rufous-chestnut colour, which seems never to occur 

 in the other. The only generally admitted Indian bird of 

 prey whose geographical range extends to Australia is the 

 maritime and very Gull-like Blagrus leucogaster, though, if 

 Prof. SchlegePs views be adopted, we should have to add the 

 Australian Peregrine and Hobby, still, however, as distinct 

 varieties of the European species, or vice versa, with equal 

 reason ! whilst Mr. Guruey (followed by Mr. Gould, as we have 

 seen) identifies the smaller individuals of the common Indian 

 Kite with the Australian Milvus affinis. In this I do not 

 concur, inasmuch as I do not believe that two definite races 

 could possibly be distinguished apart anywhere in India, but 

 that every gradation would be found, from the largest to the 

 smallest. Lastly, three rare stragglers of the family Falconida 

 from Eastern China and Japan have been met with either 

 just within the Indian boundary or close on its confines, and 

 a fourth [Buteo asiaticus) very probably appertaining mainly to 

 the Mongolian subregion north of Tibet — the home also of the 

 gigantic Berkut Eagle, the Haliaetus pelagicus, and the grand 

 Tibetan Raven. Buteo asiaticus seems to hold pretty much the 

 same relation towards other Buzzards. 



[To be continued.] 



