NiNOX. 13 



Ninox boobook, Sharpe, Ibis, 1875, p. 2oS ; id Cat. Bds. Brit. Mas., 

 vol. ii, p, 168 (1875); Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., vol. ii, 

 p. 178(1877); Broadh., Proc. Roy. Soc. Queens/., vol. ii, p. 110 

 (1886) ; Ramsay, Tab. List Aiistr. Bds., p. 2 (1888) ; North, Proc. 

 Linn. Soc. N.S.W., vol. iii, 2nd ser., p. 1774 (1888); id. Nests 

 and Egrjs Austr. Bds., p. 25 (1889); Broadh., Proc. Roy. Soc. 

 Queensld., vol. v, p. 16 (1889) ; Norton, Bull. No. 1 Dej^t. Agri. 

 N.S. W. p. 246 (1890) ; North and Keartl. Ares Horn E:cp. Centr 

 Austr., p. 62(1896); Sclater, List. Vert. Anim. Zool. Gard., 9th 

 e<l., p. 377 (1896) ; Keartl. , Vict. Nat., vol. xiii, p. 62 (1896). 



Adult male. All the upper surface dull eartliy-browu, the 

 feathers of the chin and forehead white at the base, with narrow 

 dark-brown shaft lines, those immediately over the eyes aud under 

 the bill iu some specimens altogether Avhite, base of all the 

 feathers of the upper surface dusky, with tawny margins giving 

 a mottled appearance, those of the hind neck mottled with one or 

 two spots of fulvous-white, the interscapular region without 

 spots, the back, rump and upper tail-coverts mottled with fulvous 

 or ashy-white, indicating the remains more or less distinctly of 

 white and fulvous cross-bars ; scapulars distinctly blotched with 

 white, the spots occasionally confluent and forming two white 

 cross-bars, secondaries with from four to six large white blotches 

 on the inner web, becoming fulvous on the outer web and 

 forming -alternate indistinct fulvous and brown cross-bars, 

 primaries similarly barred, the white blotches more distinct on 

 the inner webs, and on the margin of the outer an irregular 

 \vavy line of ashy-white or fulvous, with indications of from five 

 to seven cross-bars on the body of the quills ; tail earthy-brown, 

 with from six to eight cross-bars of fulvous more or less distinctly 

 indicated and becoming ashy-white on the margin of the inner 

 webs ; under tail-coverts white with a lanceolate shaft stripe and 

 remains of one or two broken bars of brown towards the end ; 

 chest tawny with a spot of fulvous or fulvous-wdiite on the outer 

 edge of the feathers towards the end, on the breast the spots 

 become elongate and form an irregular bi'oad wdiite margin, on 

 the abdomen the white margin expands almost meeting at the 

 shaft stripe and forming large white blotches on either side, 

 fluffy feathers on the lower part of the abdomen white, legs 

 tawny, almost rufous in some specimens ; feet dark brown, claws 

 and bill blackish-horn colour, the latter whitish on the culmen 

 and angle of lower mandible, underwing-coverts tawny mottled 

 with fulvous, the margins of the shoulders white ; the facial disc 

 round the eye broadest over the ear-coverts, dark brown without 

 the white markings, the bases of the feathers behind the ear- 

 coverts silky white in some specimens, and the bristles of the 

 face white at the base, with dark shaft lines and black tips. 



