Conespoiidciicc. 289 



THE COLLARED PIGMY OWLET. 



Sir, — Do any oF our iiH'iiil)f;s posse'ss li\i; si)(jc!iiueiis of tlie Collared 

 Pimny Owlet {(Jlaiic'iUinii hroil'ni. Hiiiton) V- a faiil}' common species ex- 

 toiulini,' riijlit along the Himalayas fnnii H/ara on the West to Sikkim, 

 Assam, Burma, and China on the Kast. Because it would be interesting,' 

 to learn from observation of iivinj^ specimens whether I am right in 

 supposing the markings on tiie nape to be protective in character. These 

 markings are thus described in the Fauna ot British India, Birds, Vol. 

 Ill, p 8()S — "a bhick spot on each side of the nape, followed by a rufous 

 half-collar formed by dec-)) .bntf feathers with brown borders " ; and again 

 in Hume's " Bough Notts '" p. 417 -" A broad, rufous buff, half-collar at the 

 base of tilt' neck bcliind, iiichiding in it two large olack or blackish brown 

 blotches." 



Yet neither of these two descriptions (probably taken from dry 

 skins in which the following chai'acteristic is not noticeable) mention the 

 fact that these markings form the clear representation of an Owl-face- 

 the dai-k spots becoming eye-disks. I noticed this at once on i)icking up 

 the first specimen I met with and saw the owl-face clearly every lime 

 that I held the bird at aim's length. 



It seems to me not imjjrobable that such a douljle-faced aspect 

 saves the bird from a certain amount of annoyance : for it is a markedly 

 diurnal species and as such much worried by small birds, many of which 

 may be prevented from swooping at the back of the owl's head under 

 the impression that tlie owl is watching it and ready : this theory does 

 not seem to me as far fetched as many bearing on protective colouration, 

 and observation of live birds in captivity would probably strengthen it. 

 Hence 1 bring it to your notice as the optical delusion formed by the 

 markings, if noticed, does not appear to have been recorded anywhere. 



HUGH WHISTLER, 



Indian Police. 

 Jhelum, Punjal), India. August 5th, PJ13. 



CURRENT NOTES. 



Sir,— Re my Red-lieaded x Kil)bon Finch Hybrids, I have been un- 

 fortunate enough to lose tiie male when he was ten and a half weeks 

 old ; 1 fear he got injured during a night scare which took place in my 

 aviary ; he was well and singing the day before, but the morning fol- 

 lowing the scare he was looking quite ill, and in spite of all I could do 

 for him he died the same day. It was most disappointing as he was 

 changing into adult plumage, his head was becoming quite red and the 

 si)ots (,)f the undersurface becoming quite distinct. Two hens are doing 

 well and are now twelve weeks old. 



Now, August :^Gth, they have another brood, four I think, so 

 I hope there may be another male among them ; the parents are ex- 

 cellent feeders, so I am counting on them being reared. 



There was a brood of Cordon Bleus, but I found them thrown out 

 of the nest, and the parent birds are now nesting again. 



I have now two true pairs of Red-faced Love-birds (Ayapovnis 



