BUBONID^ BUBO 



253 



inner ; tail-feathers also banded in the same fashion ; bristles of 

 the lores black with white bases, rest of the facial disc white, 

 defined on either side by a marked black band ; below, throughout 

 finely vermiculated with brown and white, darkest on the breast, 

 the white predominating on the thighs and under tail-coverts ; no 

 trace of a corn at the base of the tarso-metatarsus. 



Iris dark hazel ; bill pale ashy-horn ; cere bluish-grey, upper 

 eyelid rose-pink ; claws dusky black. 



Length about 280 ; wing 17-25 ; tail 9-5 ; tarsus 3-0 ; culmen 

 without cere 1-5. 



Distribution.— This, the largest of our Eagle Owls, is spread 

 over the greater part of Africa south of Senegambia and Abyssinia, 

 though not hitherto noticed in the west African forest region. 

 Throughout South Africa this fine bird seems to be universally dis- 

 tributed though nowhere common ; it appears to be most frequently 

 met with in the western and dryer districts. 



The following are localities : Cape Colony— Stellenbosch divi- 

 sion (S.A. Mus.), Blanco in George, Meiring's Poort in Oudt- 

 shoorn, Beaufort west division and Colesberg (Layard), near Douglas 

 in Griqualand west (Miss Orpen in S. A. Mus.) ; Natal— rare (Gurney 

 and Woodward), Ulundi and St. Lucia Lake in Zululand (Wood- 

 ward) ; Transvaal — Barberton (Eendall), along the eastern border of 

 Zoutspansberg (W. Ayres), Limpopo river (Buckley); Bechuana- 

 land — Lake regions (Andersson) ; Ehodesia — Kwesi river between 

 Tati and Bulawayo (Gates), Umfuh river (Marshall) ; German 

 south-west Africa — throughout (Andersson), Keheboth, Kalahari, 

 and Okavango (Fleck). 



Habits. — Verreaux's Eagle Owl is usually found in pairs in 

 wooded kloofs near streams and rivers ; during the day time it 

 retires to the deepest shades of a high and thick tree and remains 

 dozing, though conscious if danger threatens. At night it sallies 

 forth in search of its prey, which consists of guinea fowls and 

 other birds, small mammals up to the size of hares, and even 

 large insects. It is specially destructive to domestic fowls and will 

 soon clear out a poultry yard. The cry which is sometimes uttered 

 during the daytime but is more usually heard during the night, is 

 a hollow sepulchral hoot and reminded Layard of the call note of 

 the leopard. 



Eriksson gives the following note of its nesting habits: — " Nest 

 in a tree made of twigs, very strong, lined with feathers, containing 

 two young ones and one egg, found at Olocgo west of Gambos in 



