On the Classification of the Striges. 335 



XXXIV. — On the Classification of the Striges. By Frank 

 E. Behdard, M.A., F.Z.S., Prosector to the Zoological 

 Society of London. 



There are three important works which deal with the classi- 

 fication of the Striges from the anatomical standpoint. The 

 first of these is the treatise on Pterylography by Nitzsch"^. 

 In this work Nitzsch describes the arrangement of the fea- 

 ther-tracts in a large number of Owls, and concludes that 

 the group is separable into two well-marked divisions. One 

 of these includes the genera Utrix (termed by Nitzsch Hybi'is) 

 and PJiotodilus, Avhich is not separated geuerically from Strix ; 

 to the other group he referred all the remaining genera of 

 Striges. Prof. A. Milne-Edwards, in his ' Oiseaux fossiles 

 de la France/ gave a detailed osteological account of the 

 Striges, and showed that Nitzsch was justified in separating 

 Strix from the restf . Some years later M. Milne-Edwards J 

 published an illustrated account of the skeleton o£ Photodilus 

 badius, and pointed out that this Owl must be regarded as 

 intermediate in position between the Strigidse and Bubonidse ; 

 the pterylographical characters are those of Strix, while the 

 osteology agrees with Bubo and all other known genera 

 except Strix. In the same memoir M. Milne-Edwards de- 

 scribed the osteology of a Madagascar genus, Heliodiltis ; 

 this account is repeated, with illustrations, in a later work§. 

 The description and figures prove that Heliodiius is a near 

 ally of Strix. 



The more important osteological characters which separate 

 the Strigidce from the Bubonidae are recapitulated by Prof. 

 Newton in the ' Encyclopaedia Britanuica ' \\ . They are briefly 



* Pterylography. Englisli editiou, by P. L. Sclater. liay Soc. 



t Prof. Newtou (Yarrell's ' British lairds,' 4th ed. vol. i. p. 148) states 

 that Messrs. Sclater and Salvin had already divided the Strigidae iuto two 

 families distiuguished by the charaoterrf of the sternum. 



X Nouv. Arch. d. Mus. ser. 8, t. i. (1878). 



§ Grandidier & Milne-Edwards, ' Ilistoire Phys. Nat. et Pol it. de Mada- 

 gascar, Oiseaux.' Mr. Sharpe (P. Z. S. 1879, p. 175) has pointed out 

 that iu the serration of the middle claw IlelmUlus agrees with Strix. 



II Article " Owl,"' vol. xviii. p. 88. 

 SEH. y. — VOL. VI. 2 B 



