242 BUBONID^ ASIO 



Description. Adult male. General colour above, including the 

 wing-coverts, dark brown, with traces, especially on the wing-coverts, 

 of paler vermiculations ; wing-quills dark brown with very broad 

 bars of fulvous, the inner primaries and outer secondaries tipped 

 with whitish ; tail-feathers pale fulvous with five transverse bars 

 of brown ; in the central feathers the brown extends to the tip of 

 the feathers ; a ring of black round the eye, rest of the facial disc 

 fulvous-grey marked off by a darker line ; lower surface of the 

 body pale brown ; the lower breast and flanks mottled with white, 



FIG. 82. Asio capensis. x -i 9 . 



the thighs, tarsi, and under tail-coverts pale fulvous and unspotted ; 

 the feathering of the tarsus extends to the basal joint of the toes 

 and a line of bristles runs along the middle of these nearly to the 

 claws. 



Iris dark hazel ; bill, toes and claws black and slaty-brown. 



Length 14-75 ; wing 12-0 ; tail 6*5 ; tarsus 2-40 ; culmen 0-60. 



The sexes resemble one another in size and plumage. 



Distribution. The Marsh Owl has a curious distribution, it is 

 found in South Africa northwards to Angola on the west, and to 

 British east Africa on the east ; it reappears in Morocco and is 



