100 



BUBONID^. 



feather in continuation of tlie ruff, spotted and centred with dark brown ; 

 rest of under surface orange-buff, sometimes whitish, with a broad 

 mesial streak of dark brown, the feathers of the abdomen having also 

 dusky frecklings. Under wing-coverts buffy or light tawny, a few of 

 the feathers narrowly lined with brown. Back dusky brown, much 

 mottled with orange-buff and whitish ; wing-coverts and scapulars with 

 a large oval spot on the outer web. Edge of wing white; wing under- 

 neath yellowish white, the dark bars on the inner webs distinct. 

 Primaries dusky brown, with bars of tawny or reddish yellow, the 

 tawny interspaces towards the tips of the feathers narrow, and 

 vermiculated with brown ; the tips entirely brown. Secondaries greyish 

 white, barred with dusky ; the margins of the inner webs buffy ; 

 upper tail-coverts yellowish brown, edged and vermiculated with dusky 

 brown. Under tail-coverts white, the shafts towards the tips of some 

 of the feathers with a broad dusky spot. Tail tawuy buff or yellowish 

 brown, crossed by seven bands of dark brown and vermiculated near 

 the tip, the outer feathers with ten narrow dark brown bands. Tarsal 

 plumes tawny or yellowish buff and unspotted. Bill of a dusky horny 

 colour. Irides orange yellow. 



Length, — 13*5 to 14 inches, wing 11*75, tail 6, tarsus 1*6. 



Hah. — Throughout Europe, across Siberia to Japan and China 

 {Sharpe) ; the Himalayas from Nepaul to Cashmere, N. W. Provinces, 

 the Punjab and Afghanistan. It is also recorded from Eastern Turkis- 

 tan, N. Africa and Egypt. In Sind it is a winter visitant. 



Asio accipitrinus, Pall. Beis. Rnss. Rekhs. i. p. 455; Sharpe, 

 Cat. Str'ujcs, p. 225. Strix brachyotus, Forst. Phil. Trans. Ixii. p. 

 384 ; Gm. S. N, i. p. 289. Otus bi-achyotus, Steph. Gen. Zool. siii. pi. 

 2, p. 57; Jerd. B. Ind. i. p. 127, No. 68; Gurney, Ibis, 1868, p. 

 150; Hume, Rough Notes, ii. p. 364; Murray, Zool., ^"c, Sind, p. 118. 

 Asio brachyotus, McGill. Br. B. iii. p. 461. Asio accipitrinus. Newt. 

 Ed. Yarr. Brit. B. Shelley, B. Egypt. — The Short-eared Owl. 



Adult.— ^Ahove head, neck and back dark brown, the feathers broadly 

 margined with ochraceous buff; the scapulars much paler on their 

 outer margins, and with brown irregular markings, which form ovate 

 spots of whitish buff. Secondaries brown, mottled with ochraceous 

 buff and tipped and margined on the inner web with whitish buff; 

 primary coverts dark brown with a few ochraceous spots. Quills 

 ochraceous buff, tipped whitish and with dark brown bands, which are 

 distinct on both webs. Upper tail-coverts ochraceous, faintly edged 

 with a darker shade; under tail- coverts pale fulvous, with a mesial 

 dark streak on some of the feathers; tarsal plumes unspotted ochraceous. 

 Ear-tufts 0*5 inch long ; chin whitish, in some specimens buffy. Ruff 

 whitish, or whitish butf, and speckled with spots of brown ; plumes 

 above the eye whitish buff, with mesial dark brown streaks ; facial 

 aspect dull white, the lores brownish ; feathers round the eye black ; 

 ear-coverts ochraceous, with narrow black shaft-lines. Breast and entire 

 under parts ochraceous buff, streaked with dark brown mesially, these 

 streaks narrowing into linear shaft-lines on the lower breast and 



