138 Letters, Extracts, Notices, fyc. 



like both parents ; they resemble the mother in being dark, 

 but exhibit more white on the facial disc. Both shew a tinge 

 of rose-colour at the base of the inner primaries and on some 

 of the under wing-coverts, which is, I fancy, a character of 

 young feathers. The other two of the same brood, one dark- 

 eyed and the other yellow-eyed, are still alive in Mr. Vallon's 

 house at Udiue, the A. chiaradice having considerably spoilt 

 its feathers. 



I may here add that on the 19th of November I caused 

 the singular albino A. noctua, from near Pisa, which I had 

 kept alive from the beginning of the year, to be killed. It 

 was in perfect plumage, but cage-life had produced a con- 

 siderable malformation in its bill, and I wished to preserve it 

 with the least possible damage. The main peculiarity which 

 I had noticed in this specimen, now a big full-grown female, 

 was the dark greenish-grey colour of the irides, which only 

 under certain incidences of light shewed the red of the 

 blood-vessels, being evidently only partially pigmented but 

 quite enough to look black in ordinary aspects. When 

 dead a closer examination shewed another remarkable 

 character — the entire plumage is of a snowy white when 

 viewed externally, except the middle portion of the tail- 

 feathers and more slightly those around the base of the bill, 

 which are tinged with yellow; but on lifting up the body- 

 feathers and the inner wing-feathers I was surprised to find 

 them all deeply tinged with a vinaceous rose-colour, very like 

 that which is found on the bases of the feathers of certain 

 Bustards in normal condition, namely in our Otis tetrax. 

 In this albino Civetta the vinaceous tint extends nearly half 

 up each feather from the base ; it is much less marked on 

 the feathers of the head. It looks as if Athene noctua as a 

 species, in Italy at least, is in a curious state of instability. 



Yours &c., 

 R. Zoological Museum, Florence, Henry H. GlGLIOLI. 



Nov. 27th, 1902. 



