114 BL 7 BONID^E. 



Gen. Asio. Briss. 



Characters, same as those of the Sub-Family. 



110- AsiO OtUS, Lin. S. N. i. p. 132; Sharpe, Cat. Striges, p. 227. 

 Otus vulgaris, Fle??img, Brit. An. p. 56 ; Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 40; Gould. B. 

 Eur. pi. 39; Jerd. Birds Ind. i. p. 125, No. 67 ; Loche Exp. Sci. Alger. 

 Ois. p. 96; Hume, Rough Notes, ii. p. 363 ; Murray, fTdbk., Zool. t 8fc. t Sind, 

 p. 121. Murray Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 99. Otus communis, Less. Traite. 

 p. no. The LONG-EARED OWL. 



Head, neck, and breast yellowish brown, or tawny yellow, with mesial dark 

 brown longitudinal streaks to the feathers, many of which are margined 

 whitish and pencilled with dusky brown ; ear-tufts I if inch, brownish black 

 in the middle, edged tawny, the upper edge of the inner web whitish ; fore- 

 head finely mottled, whitish, dusky and ferruginous ; face dusky white with 

 hair-like lines of black ; feathers round the eye blackish ; ear coverts yellowish, 

 tipped with dusky brown ; facial ruff white, the feathers tipped with black ; 

 chin white ; throat with stiff feathers in continuation of the ruff, spotted and 

 centred with dark brown ; rest of under surface orange-buff, sometimes 

 whitish, with a broad mesial streak of dark brown, the feathers of the abdomen 

 having also dusky frecklings. Under-wing coverts buffy or light tawny, a few 

 of the feathers narrowly lined with brown. Back dusky brown, much mottled 

 with orange-buff and whitish ; wing coverts and scapulars with a large oval 

 spot on the outer web. Edge of wing white ; wing underneath yellowish 

 white, the dark bars on the inner webs distinct. Primaries dusky brown, with 

 bars of tawny or reddish yellow, the tawny interspaces towards the tips of the 

 feathers narrow, and vermiculated with brown ; the tips entirely brown. 

 Secondaries greyish white, barred with dusky ; the margins of the inner webs 

 buffy ; upper-tail coverts yellowish brown, edged and vermiculated with dusky 

 brown. Upper-tail coverts white, the shafts towards the tips of some of the 

 feathers with a broad dusky spot. Tail tawny buff or yellowish brown, cross- 

 ed by seven bands of dark brown and vermiculated near the tip, the outer 

 feathers with ten narrow dark brown bands. Tarsal plumes tawny or yellowish 

 buff and unspotted. Bill of a dusky horn colour. Irides orange yellow. 



Length. 13*5 to 14 inches; wing 1175; tail 6; tarsus r6. 



. Throughout Europe, across Siberia to Japan and China (Sharpe) ; 

 the Himalayas from Nepaul to Cashmere, N.-W. Provinces, the Punjab and 

 Afghanistan. It it also recorded from Eastern Turkistan, N. Africa and 

 Egypt. In Sind it is a winter visitant. Nothing is known of the breeding 

 of this species in India. Mr. Hume, however, in Rough Notes, says he has 

 reason to believe it is a permanent resident of the forests of the interior of 

 the Himalayas. Yarrell and others assert that it does not make a nest for itself, 

 but occupies the deserted habitation of some other bird, as the crow, ringdove, 



