COMMON SCREECH-OWL. 



391 



tober 1835, by Mr James Wilson, author of Illustra- 

 tions of Zoolog"y, and other works, is as follows : — 



Bill flesh-coloured, a small portion of the tips only 

 yellowish-white ; cere and inside of the mouth also 

 flesh-coloured ; iris black ; edges of eyelids and of nycti- 

 tant membrane blackish-brown ; scales of the tarsi pur- 

 plish-brown ; scutella and claws dark purplish-grey ; 

 lower surface of toes dull greyish-yellow. The facial 

 disks white, with a brownish-red patch anterior to the 

 eye. The inner feathers of the ruff^all round are white, 

 the rest of a beautiful buff^, those of its lower third 

 tipped with brownish-black. The small feathers of the 

 head between the ruff are also of a shining buff-colour. 

 The upper parts are light reddish-yellow, variegated 

 with ash-grey, which on the hind neck and back is the 

 prevailing tint, when the feathers are closely laid, al- 

 though it occupies only a small portion of the end of 

 each, which is minutely mottled with greyish-white and 

 dark greyish-brown, and has along the centre from two 

 to five spots of dark brown and whitish. The wings 

 have less grey ; the primary quills are mottled at the 

 end, the secondary more or less over their outer webs ; 

 there are five faint bars of brownish-grey mottlings on 

 the outer, and greyish-brown spots on the inner webs ; 

 all the quills are pure white on three-fourths of the 

 breadth of their inner webs. The tail is more distinct- 

 ly marked with the same number of dark grey bands ; 

 the inner webs, excepting the two middle, and the 

 outer webs of the two lateral, white. The sides and 

 fore part of the neck are of a most delicate pale buff ; 

 the rest of the lower parts, including the under surface 

 of the wings and tail, white ; some of the feathers of 



