ASIONIDiE. 267 



white ; tail-feathers white, the middle pair generally and the outer 

 webs of the others often buff above, all, except sometimes the 

 outermost, with brown cross-bars ; lower parts from chin white or 

 buff, with several scattered brown spots that are seldom or never 

 entirely wanting. 



The buff lower parts and the pink disk may be signs of youth 

 (they are not so in S. jlmnmea) ; they are certainly not sexual. 



Bill and cere pinky white ; irides deep brown ; legs and feet 

 blackish brown ; claws horny, tinged bluish {Davison). 



Length about 14 ; tail 5 ; wing 13 ; tarsus 3'2-3'8 ; bill from 

 gape 1*6. 



Distribution. The grassy plains near the base of the Himalayas 

 as far west as Dehra Dun, also parts of Bengal, the Eastern Cen- 

 tral Provinces (Balaghat, Raipur), and Southern India (Nellore, 

 Carnatic, Nilgiris), but not Ceylon. Fairbank thought he saw 

 this Owl in the Bombay Deccan, but I agree with Butler that pro- 

 bably some other species may have been taken for it. To the east- 

 ward it has been found in Assam, the Khiisi hills, Manipur, and 

 at Toungngoo in Burma, and as far as Formosa in one direction, 

 and Queensland in another, but it appears to be rare as a rule and 

 very locally distributed. 



Habits, Sfc. This species has generally been found in long grass, 

 but Davison says that on the Nilgiris he has flushed it from grass 

 scarcely a foot high. Very little is known of its habits. The 

 nest, a very slight one, if any, is made on the ground ; the eggs, 

 4 or 5 in number, are white, and measure about 1'63 by 1*27. 

 They have been taken from October to December. 



Family ASIONID^. 



Hinder margin of sternum with two deep incisions on each 

 side ; furcula free, not attached to the keel of the sternum, imper- 

 fect in some genera ; a small unforked manubrium {spina externa) 

 is present. Skull broad. Basal and second joints of third (middle) 

 toe subequal in length. 



The Asionidce may be divided into 3 subfamilies, thus distin- 

 guished : — 



a. Facial disk and ruff well-marked. 



a'. Ear-orifice smaller than eye ; no oper- 

 culum ; middle claw pectinate Photodilince,^. 268. 



y. Ear-orifice larger than eye and fur- 

 nished with an operculum ; middle 

 claw simple Asionince, p. 270, 



b. Facial disk and ruff ill-marked or obsolete ; 



ear-orifice smaller than eye ; middle 



claw simple Bubonince, p. 280. 



