312 African Zoology. 



reddish white, above the white is more pure and the brown 

 lighter. Bill and: claws brown black ; eyes deep topaz yellow ; 

 wings when folded extend over two-thirds of the tail. Length 

 about twelve inches. 



Inhabits South Africa, Great Namaqualand. 



Strix nisuella, Lath. Le Chou-cou-hou, Le Vaill. Afriq. 

 pi 39. 



Obs. In the figure given by Le Vaillant, the facial disc is margined by 

 two rows of brown spots. 



Genus NOCTUA. Savigny. 



Head without egrets, ear opening oval, moderate. Facial 

 disc little develloped, almost incomplete ; toes feathered or 

 covered with rigid hairs ; tail short, equal. 



Noctua hirsuta. Forehead and lores whitish with a few 

 black hairs at the base of the beak ; top of head and nape ashy 

 brown ; back wing coverts and quills an uniform brown ; sca- 

 pulars and inner secondaries spotted on inner webs with white ; 

 throat reddish ; breast and belly whitish, varied with large 

 reddish brown spots ; tail feathers banded with four bars of 

 brown and four of ash-colour, their tips white ; toes marbled 

 with red and brown, their edges with rough excrescences of a 

 yellowish colour, and a regular series of strong bristles ; bill 

 black ; the tail white. 



Inhabits Madagascar, India, and Ceylon. 



Strix hirsuta, Temm. pi. col. 289. 



Noctua occipitalis. Forehead and upper part of head reddish, 

 dotted with white ; upper part of body brown and yellow, with 

 white spots encircled with black ; male with a whitish band on 

 the occiput ; female, a reddish one ; on each side of this a band 

 composed of a tuft of feathers spotted with black and white ; 

 all the lower parts of body dashed with clear red ; quills re- 

 gularly banded, alternately, brown and reddish. Tail feathers 

 brown or yellow, with five white spots on both webs, those on 

 the outer ones smallest ; legs and toes covered with a very short 

 down ; beak yellowish, with some white hairs on its sides as well 

 as near the eyes. Length seven inches. 



Inhabits Africa. 



Strix occipitalis, Temm. pi. col. 34. 



Noctua Woodfordii, Smith. Above brown, freely sprinkled 

 with somewhat triangular, clear white spots, and the back, 

 scapulars, and shoulders, marked besides with narrow trans- 

 verse, obscure white, or dull tawny zig-zag lines ; the outer- 



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