MOEPHOLOGY OF THE OWLS. 37 



nestling skulls are available. It will be interesting to see how many genera have the 

 types of squamosal seen in Speotyto. I imagine it will be found in Gymnasio, Nyctala, 

 Surnia, Car'me, and Glcmcidium, perhaps in others. 



Genera and species are founded generally by ornithologists upon external characters 

 only, and not seldom upon apparently slender foundations. In doubtful cases of this 

 kind, an appeal to osteology will sometimes ajfford unexpected help. Thus Hodgson (14) 

 founded the genus Huluta to include certain Owls hitherto regarded as belonging to the 

 genus Biiho. Sharpe, in his Catalogue of Bmls (25), suppressed Hodgson's genus, but 

 has revived it in his Hand-list (26) and includes tlierein five species. Of these, but 

 one is represented in the Museum Collection skeletons, in the shape of a trunk of 

 S. nipalensis. The sternum of this is remarkable in that it differs not only from that of 

 all the genus Bubo, but from that of all the Asionidse, in possessing but a single pair 

 of notches. It will be interesting to see whether this character is common to all the 

 species included in the genus HuJma. 



In the genus Strix sjiecific differences are very small. Out of a total of 26 species 

 recognized by Dr. Sharpe, only six are represented in the Collection. Of these six, 

 strangely enough, that with perhaps the more distinctly marked skull, ^S*. poensis, is 

 regarded by Sharpe, on the evidence of external characters, as indistinguishable from 

 aS*. flammeus. 



Remembering the paucity of material at my command, it is well to be cautious in 

 attaching importance to the distinctions which can be made out in these skeletons, but 

 I arive the following diagnoses as a foundation for further work. 



A. Size larger, not less than 3 inches long. 



a. Pterygoids relatively thick, shaft with strongly curved anterior extremity ; supra- 

 orbital process feeble ; frontal not constricted in front of supraorbital process ; 

 sternum longer than coracoid S. pratincola. 



h. Pterygoid relatively slender, not much curved anteriorly ; supraorbital processes 

 large, triangular, frontal constricted in front of them ; sternum and coracoid 

 equal S. delicatulus. 



B. Size smaller, not exceeding 2'8 inches. 



c. Palatines with a slightly emarginate posterior lateral border ; vomer large, filling 



space between maxillo-palatine processes ; width of interorbital region behind 

 lachrymal equalling distance from nasal hinge to anterior extremity of external 

 nasal fossa ; proc. lat. basalis of coracoid small, with emarginate lateral border 

 not extending forward as far as proc. lat. anterior of sternum ; sternum shorter 

 than coracoid S. flammeus. 



d. Palatines with deeply emarginate posterior lateral border ; vomer small, not filling 



space between maxillo-palatine processes; lachrymal relatively small; interorbital 

 region with frontal not greatly inflated ; width across interorbital region behind 

 lachrymal falling far short of distance from nasal hinge to anterior end of 

 nostril; cerebral dome large and with a deep median furrow; sternum longer 

 than coracoid ; antero- ventral angles of preacetabular ilium produced forwards 

 into long spikes -S- poensis. 



