391 
to be identical with Mr. Blyth’s Spilocephalus, is, that Capt. 
Hutton has a specimen, on the wrapper of which, Mr. Blyth 
himself wrote the name of Spilocephalus. Moreover, laid 
amongst specimens of all the other five Indian species of 
Ephialtes, it is the only one of which the head is truly and 
conspicuously spotted, recalling by the way, to a certain 
extent, the markings on the head of Scotopelia Peli, as figured 
by Mr. Wolf in Vol. I. of the Ibis. 
Capt. Hutton gives the following account of the nidification 
of this species. He calls it Pennatus, it is true; but he has sent 
me beautiful specimens of the birds, which leave no doubt that 
the species referred to is the present one. 
“'This Owl occurs on the Himalayas, in the neighbourhood 
of Mussoorie, at an elevation of five thousand feet, and nidifi- 
cates in hollow trees, laying three pure white eggs, of a rounded 
form, on the rotten wood, without any preparation of a nest. 
Diameter of egg, 1:19 & Linch. The nest was found on the 
19th of March.”’ 
In some respects this species approximates to Athene, the 
fourth and fifth quills are equal and longest (and not the third 
and fourth as according to Jerdon they should be in Ephialtes) 
while the note is almost identical with, or at any rate is of pre- 
cisely the same character as that of G. Brodiei. Capt. Hutton, 
who quite independently noticed the peculiar rounded shape of the 
wing, but from want of works of reference, identified this species 
somewhat freckled, transverse, brown bars, most strongly marked towards the 
bases of the feathers, and becoming more or less obsolete towards the tips. 
The quills, rufous fawn, broadly barred and clouded with dusky brown, 
which, above the tips, suffuses the greater portion of the inner webs. The 
rufous fawn being replaced in three or four of the interspaces, of the outer 
webs, of the third to the sixth or seventh primaries, by slightly rufous or 
buffy white. The carpal joint of the wing whitish ; the outer webs of the 
outer feather of the winglet and the tips of some of the secondary greater 
and median coverts, white, or faintly buffy white, with broad, irregular, brown 
bars. The chin. and throat, rufous white, or pale fawn color, some of the 
feathers of the throat with narrow, somewhat irregular, transverse, brown 
bars, and all the feathers of the ruff tipped with the same colour. The breast, 
abdomen, and flank, pale rufous white or fawn colour very thickly freckled 
and vermicillated with dark brown, most thickly on the breast, somewhat 
more sparingly so on the abdomen and flanks, the markings becoming con- 
fluent in spots, towards the tips of some of the feathers. Tarsal plumes, 
more or less ferruginous, tibial ditto, rufous white; the whole more or less 
spotted or obscurely barred with dusky. The wing lining and axillaries 
silky yellowish white, except towards the edge of the wing, near the carpal 
joint, where the feathers are mingled rufous and dusky brown. 
The general tone of colouring in some specimen, is darker and more 
‘rufous, in others paler and more buffy. 
