78 HIRUNDININ#. 
different individuals, some being a greyer and more dove-brown, 
others more rufous, but always more rufous on the coverts, and 
generally palest or clearest on the tertiaries; the exterior 
scapulars with larger or smaller pure white bars, sometimes on 
both and sometimes upon one web only,in some specimens 
conspicuous even when the bird is at rest, in others only visible 
by lifting the feathers; the tertiaries are barred on both webs 
with white ; the tail is pale grey, greyish-brown, or pale brown, 
white at the extreme tip, with five regular, transverse, brown 
bars, darker or lighter in different individuals, the basal one of 
which is more or less completely hidden by the upper tail-coverts, 
and which average about 0-4 inchesin breadth; the primaries, 
their greater-coverts, and the winglet are generally somewhat 
darker-brown than the rest of the wing, but the former are paler 
on the outer webs; all the quills are banded paler, somewhat 
obsoletely towards the tips and on the outer webs, but very 
conspicuously on the imner webs above the tip; the breast, 
abdomen, sides, flanks, vent and lower tail-coverts are pure white 
the breast with broad, rufous-brown stripes, and the flanks and 
abdomen with large, more or less heart-shaped, spots of the same 
color towards the tips of the feathers; the lower tail-coverts 
sometimes spotless, and sometimes with traces of a few pale-brown 
arrow-head, transverse bars; tarsal and tibial plumes mottled 
white, pale fulvous and brown, one or other of these colors, in 
some specimens the white, in others the fulvous or the brown, 
greatly predominating ; axillaries white, or pale fulvous, more or 
less imperfectly but broadly barred with brown, or pale fulvous- 
brown; edge of the wing just above the base of the primaries 
white ; wing-lining mingled white, brown, and pale fulvous. 
The Brown Hawk Owl only occurs as an occasional straggler 
in some parts of the Deccan. It may perhaps be rather more 
common than is generally supposed, but owing to its very shy 
nature it must often escape notice. 
Orver, Insessores, Vigor's. 
Bill very varied in form; feet either with three toes in front 
and one behind, on the same plane, or with two before and two 
behind ; in some few the hind-toe reversible, so that all four can be 
brought to the front, and in a few cases one toe is wanting. 
Faminty, Hirundinide. 
Bill short, broad at the base, depressed, compressed at the tip, 
more or less curved, not notched; gape very wide; wings long, 
pointed ; tarsi short ; feet feeble; hind-toe short. 
Sus-FAMILY, Hirundinine. 
The bill is short, flat, nearly triangular, compressed at the tips, 
with a slight emargination ; the culmen gently bent at the tip, 
but not hooked; the gape is large, without any rictal bristles ; 
