' ' PS - 91 ' 



broadly centred with black and crossed with a tew narrow zigzag lines of 

 brown and vcrmiculalcd with the same at the tips, many of the feathers inclin- 

 ing to white ; on the breast and the rest of the lower parts the white predomi- 

 nates, many of the feathers only having a few zigzag markings of brown, on 

 many of them a strong tinge of rufous with broad black central streaks ; some 

 of the flank feathers slightly washed with grey ; under tail coverts almost 

 entirely white, except an arrow-shaped mark of rufous or brown near the 

 tip ; leg feathers buft'y white, the tarsus slightly streaked with brown ; under 

 wing coverts fulvous, those near the edge of the wing mottled with brown ; the 

 lower series ashy brown with yellowish white base, the quills being also ashy 

 brown below, but inclining to rufous near the tips, the bands being entirely of 

 this colour, and fulvous only near the base of the inner webs. 



Length, 8 inches ; wing 5-1 ; tail 2'7 ; tarsus 0*85. (Sharpe). 



Unique. A single specimen from the Eastern Ghauts, Madras. Nothing 

 is known of its habits or nidification. I am, however, strongly inclined to 

 group this as a variety of S. spiolcephalus. 



89. SCOPS brUCii, Hume, Stray Feathers, vol. i. p. 8 ; Murray, 

 Handbook, Zool. -c., Sind, p. 119; Sharpe, Cat. Striges, vol. ii. p. 63; 

 Murray, Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 495 ; Sir. F. vol. ii. p. 491 ; iv. 254; vii. 352 ; 

 Descr. ix. 36, 312 376-452. The STRIATED SCOPS OWL. 



Cheeks and feathers under the eye greyish white, excessively fine and 

 indistinctly barred with brown ; the lores and stripe running up from them 

 to the top of the eye creamy white. The longer feathers that meet over the 

 base of the upper mandible tinged brownish, a few tiny dark brown feathers 

 on the eyelids. Chin and throat creamy white, with very narrow central shaft- 

 stripes towards the tips and excessively finely vermiculated with brown. Feathers 

 of the ruff, which is inconspicuous, very pale buff, narrowly edged with dark 

 brown. The whole of the forehead, crown, back of head, back and sides of 

 neck, back, scapulars, wing coverts, rump, and upper tail coverts, very pale 

 buff or creamy white, so minutely and closely powdered with pale brown, that 

 looked at from a little distance, the feathers appear to be a uniform pale earthy 

 brown. Every feather has a narrow central dark-brown stripe, some of the 

 outer scapulars have inconspicuous patches of buff on their outer webs, and 

 the ground colour of the feathers on each side of the crown immediately 

 above the eye is slightly paler; but beyond this the whole of the upper 

 plumage above described is singularly uniform in tint and appearance, and is 

 absolutely devoid of those white spots and blackish brown or buff dashes and 

 streaks so characteristic of the other Indian species. The primaries are pale 

 dingy buff, with broad transverse brown bars, which towards the tips are with 

 the ground colour mottled and freckled over, the ground colour with brown, 

 and the bars with dingy fulvous. Nearer the base of the feathers, the light 

 bars are on the exterior webs pure pale buff, while the daik bars continue 



