38 BIKDS OF SOUTH AFKICA. 



56. Athene LiCUa, Llcht. Jard. Cont. to Om., 

 1852, p. 142. 



Tail greatly exceeding the wings, with six rows of white 

 spots ; toes slightly hairy. 



Tlie above curt description is tlie only one whicli I have been able 

 to obtain of an owl said to exist in South Africa.* 



The Sub-Family, BUBONIN-Sl, or Horned Owls, 



have the head large, broad, flat on the top, and furnished 

 with two prominent tufts ; the facial disk imperfect above 

 the eyes. 



Genus BUBO, Sibbald. 

 Bill raodei'ate, broad, concealed at the base, and compressed 

 at the sides ; the culmen curved to the tip, which is hooked 

 and acute ; the lateral margins slightly sinuated ; thjs nostrils 

 placed in the fore part of the cere, hidden by the projecting 

 plumes, large, oval, and rounded. Wings rather long, with 

 the second, third, and fourth quills nearly equal and longest. 

 Tail moderate, rounded. Tarsi short, thick, and densely 

 plumed. Toes moderate, and thickly plumed; the top of 

 each toe furnished with two or three transverse scales, which 

 are more or less concealed by the plumes ; the lateral toes 

 unequal ; the hind toe short ; the claws long, strong, and 

 curved. 



57. Bubo Verreauxii. Bp. Cons., Av., p. 49; 



Buho Lacteus, Temm., PL, Col. 4. 



General colour above and below brownish-grey, minutely 

 variegated throughout. A white mark extends from the 

 shoulder half-way down the back, and several white blotches 

 appear on the wing-coverts. The facial disk is lightish-grey ; 

 a semicircle of black extends from each horn, under the 

 chin, but they do not unite by several inches. The horns are 

 dark, rusty-brown. The stiff hairs, which project along the 

 bill, are black along their shafts and at the tips. This species 

 has been separated from B. Lacteus on account of its larger 

 size, Iris, according to Mr. Atmore, black and red. Length, 

 26" ; wing, 18^" ; tail, 6i". 



Several specimens of this noble owl have come to me from my cor- 

 respondents. Mr. Jackson says it is not uncommon in the mountains 

 near his residence. Mr. Arnot has sent it from Colesberg, and Mr. 



* Schlegel in his catalogue of the Museum of Natural History of Holland, which 

 has but just reached my hands, while these sheets are passing through the press, give? 

 this as identical with the preceding species. 



