Order STRIGES. 



Family STRIGID^. 



8TRIX PLAMMEA, Linnseus. 



BAEN-OWL. 



Strix flammea, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 133 (1766) ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds 



Brit. Mus. ii, p. 291 ; Malherbe, Cat. Bais. d'Ois. Alg. p. 7 (1846) ; 



Loche, Expl. Sci. Alg. Oi.s. i, p. 91 (1867) ; Koenig, J. f. 0. 1888, p. 



164; id. J.f. 0. 1892, p. 358; WhitaJcer, Ibis, 1895, p. 103. 

 Strix flammea meridionalis, Koenig, J. f. 0. 1895, p. 171 ; ErJanger, 



J. f. 0. 1898, p. 477. 



Description. — Adult male, winter, from town of Tunis, North Tunisia. 



Facial disc white, with a yellowish-buff ruff or frill, the inner feathers of 

 which are whitish, and the outer ones on the lower part tipped with brown ; 

 the region immeiiately surrounding the eye rufous ; upper parts generally 

 yellowish-buff, most of the feathers, particularly on the back, with the 

 terminal portion pencilled with grey, and spotted and streaked with white 

 and dark brown ; quills pale orange-buff, becoming white on the inner webs, 

 and barred with greyish-brown ; tail yellowish-buff, barred with greyish- 

 brown ; entire underparts silvery-white, with a few minute dark spots on 

 the flanks. 



Iris almost black ; bill flesh-white ; tarsus feathered down to toes, which 

 are sparsely clothed with bristles, middle claw with a serrated margin. 



Total length 13 inches, wing 11-50, culmen 1-25, tarsus 2-30. 



Adult female similar to the male, but rather larger. 



The young are at first covered with white down, but assume the plumage 

 of the adult bird long before they ai-e able to fly. 



The Barn-Owl is resident, and occurs generally throughout Tunisia, 

 being, however, more often met with in the north than in the south 

 of the Regency. In the immediate vicinity of the town of Tunis 

 itself the species is by no means uncommon, and the Arabs often 

 capture it alive in the holes of the old walls and buildings of the 

 neighbourhood. The Roman ruins, common in many parts of the 

 country, are also frequented by this Owl, the fine amphitheatre of 

 El Djem in particular being one of its favourite haunts. 



VOL. II. 



