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intervals by day, in fact at times a perfect nuisance. Dogs 
were their abomination and the way in which, menaced by a 
puppy of mine, who evidently thought it famous fun, they 
would lower their heads, set out their wings and ear coverts, 
and “curse and swear,” (a mixture of hissing and chattering 
utterly indescribable in words) was really quite ‘ edifying !’ 
Specimens from Dehra, Saharunpoor, Kumaon, and Kala- 
doongee, in fact (as far as I have had the opportunity of 
observing them) northern birds, differ apparently constantly in 
tint from those sent me from the Madras Presidency, Aboo and 
other comparatively southern localities. The whole of the 
barred portions of the upper half of the body, breast, throat, 
head, neck, upper back and lesser coverts, in the northern birds 
are more rufous, the light bars conspicuously so, than in the 
southern birds, in some specimens of the former, the light bars 
are bright rufous buff, and in no specimens can they be called 
merely “rufescent whitish,’ (a correct description of those of 
the southern birds) being in every case distinctly srufous, 
although it may in some birds be rather pale, dull or slightly 
fulvous. Again, in the southern birds the bars of the longer 
scapulars are either pure white or greyish white, while in the 
northern they are tinged with rufous or fulvous. Itis true I have 
only five of each before me now, and I have only now noticed 
the difference in comparing the whole series, but it is constant 
in all these and seems very marked. Thereis more white too in 
the lower parts, and the rufous of the primaries is brighter and 
clearer in the southern than the northern specimens, and gene- 
rally the whole tone of colouring in the two races differs mar- 
kedly to the eye, and if really constant, is noteworthy. 
This genus, or perhaps I should say the type form of this 
genus, is one which appears to have a great tendency to vary ; 
the species it contains are very numerous, each for the most 
part restricted to a natural territorial division, in many instances 
of very limited extent. The present species does not extend, I 
believe southwards far beyond the Neilgherries. Further south 
and on the west coast, it is replaced by Walabaricus and in 
Ceylon by Castaneonotus. It does not appear to be found in 
lower or Eastern Bengal, nor in Burmah, although Dr. Cantor 
procured “a single specimen of this pretty little Owl, at Keddah 
(Malayan Peninsula) agreeing in every respect with those 
obtained from India.” Westwards in upper India, I do not 
find it noticed from Cashmere, and though it may be found 
there, it has not occurred in any of the many collections that 
I have examined from thence, and the neighbourhood of 
Murree. Even within the limits, within which it is known to 
