82 



door Ov)l of Europe (Strix Jlammea), a comparison of several 

 specimens with the European bird satisfies Colonel Sykes ihat 

 Dr. Horsfield was riglit in separating it. Neither sex is un- 

 spotted vvhite underneath, nor has the Indian species a vvhite 

 disc. Sexes alike, with the exception of the plumage of the 

 female being a shade or two lighter thao that of the malė. 

 Length, inclusive of tail, 17 inches : tail 5 inches. One of 

 Colonel Sykes's specimens was captured alive while lying on 

 its back on the ground, defending itself against the attacks of 

 a body of crovvs. Irides i'eddish dark brovvn. 



20. Strix Ikdranee. Strix capite supra pallide brunueo, plumis 



albido marginatis ; dorso imo, pteromatibusque rujescenti-brun- 

 7ieis, fasciis albisjusco marginatis notatis ; dorso niedio, ptilis, 

 remigibus cauddgue brunneis, his rufescentijasciatis, hacjasciis 

 albidis gracilibus notata, ad apicem albo marginatd ; gula cris- 

 soque albescentibus ; ahdomine subrufo, brunneo graciLiterJas- 

 ciato ; regione circumoculari nigra ; disco riifo, brunneo mar- 

 ginato. 



Irides rufo-brunneae. Longitudo corporis 21 unc, caudce 9. 

 Inhabits the woods of the Ghauts : rare. The specimen de- 

 scribed is a young bird, and a female. 



Genus Kelupa, Less. 



21. Ketupa Leschenaulti. Less., Traite d'Ornith. p. 114. Strix 



Leschenaulti, Temm., PI. Col. 20. Scops? Leschenaulti, Steph., 



vol. 13. p. 53. 



A rare bird in the Dukhun. Independently of the naked legs of 



this bird, its aquiline aspect authorizes its separation from the 



genera with which it had been placed previously to M. Les- 



son's arrangement. 



Genus Noctua, Sav. 



22. Noct. Indica, Frankl. Peenglah of the Mahrattas. 



Irides King's yellow. Sexes alike. Mice and beetles found in 

 the stomach. A n exceedingly noisy bird, and frequently heard 

 chattering during the day-time in dense trees. The Mahrattas 

 have a superstition respecting this species ; and a classof per- 

 sons, called from it Peengleh, live on the credulity of the people 

 by pretending to consult it, and predict events. Length, in- 

 clusive of tail, 9| to II inches: tail 2| to 3 inches. Numerous 

 in the Dukhun, and found in families of four or five. 



Order h. INSESSORES, Vigors. 



Tribus Fissirostres, Cuv. 



Fam. Meropidce. — Genus Merops, Linn. 



23. Merops viridis, Linn. Indian Bee-eater, Lath. Guepier a collier 



de Madagascar, BufF. 



