226 Miscellaneous. 



stinctly defined, of blackish brown, and minutely and irregularly 

 dotted with the same colour. Abdominal region with the bands 

 less numerous, and many of the feathers having several irregularly 

 shaped, though rather rounded and sagittate spots of nearly black. 



Tarsi covered to the toes with pale rufous whitish feathers. Toes 

 naked. 



Tail same rufous brown as the back, with alternate bands of darker 

 and paler shades ; in some instances the paler band on the external 

 opposite to the darker band on the internal web. 



Bill and feet yellow, claws long and slender. 



Total length of skin about 10 inches, wing 7, tail 4^. 



Very young. Upper surface of the head and body pale yellowish 

 and sordid rufous, every feather with several narrow transverse dark 

 lines. Breast and belly darker, with the spots more distinctly 

 rounded and occupying the whole breast and inferior surface. 



Wings and tail more fully developed than the other plumage. 



Hab. India? 



One specimen of this species, without label, belongs to the R voli 

 collection ; another, which is that of a young bird, labeled Malacca, 

 has been received from Mr. Edward Wilson, who obtained it in 

 Paris. I am acquainted with no species oi Ephialtes with which this 

 can readily be confounded, and, in fact, it looks more like Dr. Hors- 

 field's plate of Strix (Pkodilus) badius, than any other which I have 

 met with, and is about the same size (as the figure), while in general 

 appearance, particularly in the colouring of the breast and belly, it 

 bears some resemblance to Strix (Lophostrix) cristata, Daud. (gri- 

 seata. Lath.). It is however a true Ephialtes, though an aberrant 

 species. The sagittate spots distinguish it, and, as far as I know, are 

 peculiar. 



Ephialtes Watsonii, nobis. Summit of the head black, with a few 

 very minute pale spots, more numerous on the front and eyebrows. 

 Shorter feathers of the ear-tufts black, others black also, but with 

 their inner webs spotted or mottled with white. A semicircle above 

 the eye extending to the ear- tufts black ; rigid feathers at the base 

 of the bill black, with pale grayish terminations ; feathers imme- 

 diately below the eye gray, mottled and broadly tipped with black. 



Discal feathers grayish white, many of them speckled, and all 

 tipped with black, presenting a M'hite and black semicoUar or ruflf 

 on each side of the neck. Plumage of the throat with fine alternate 

 bars of black and nearly white. 



Neck above with a well-defined collar, the feathers composing 

 which are strongly fulvous, terminated with white and speckled with 

 black. 



Back, rump, tail- and wing-coverts mottled and freckled with 

 grayish white upon a black ground, many of the feathers having 

 about three to five very irregular transverse bands of whitish ; on 

 the wing-coverts and back some of the pale marks are almost cir- 

 cular with black centres, others are of irregular form also enclosing 

 centres of black. 



External webs of the primaries black, with subquadrate nearly 

 white bars, nearly all of which have black centres, assuming also a 



