164 BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH. 



Genus SYENIUM, Savigny. 



544. SYRNIUM SINENSE. 



THE MALAYAN WOOD-OWL. 



Strix sinensis, Lath. 2nd. Orn. Suppl. p. xvi. Strix seloputo, Horsf. Trans. 

 Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 140. Strix pagodarum, Temm. PL Col. 230. Bulaca 

 sinensis, Hume, Rough Notes, ii. p. 357. Ciccaba seloputo, Salvad. Ucc. Born. 

 p. 21. Syrnium sinense, Sharpe, Cat. Birds B. Mus. ii. p. 261. Syrnium 

 seloputo, Bl $ Wold. B. Burm. p. 67; Hume, S. F. iii. p. 37; Hume fy Dav. 

 S. F. vi. p. 28 ; Oates, S. F. vii. p. 45 ; Hume, S. F. viii. p. 83 ; Bingham, S. F. 

 ix. p. 146; Oates, S. F. x. p. 182. 



Description. Male and female. Forehead, chin, and facial disk rather 

 bright ferruginous without marks ; lower edge of disk whitish ; a large 

 patch on the throat pure white ; the space between this patch and the chin 

 ferruginous ; ear-coverts black, barred slightly at the lower end with 

 ferruginous ; top of head and neck very dark chocolate-brown, each feather 

 with two white spots on either web, the spots becoming larger as they 

 recede from the front of the head ; sides of the neck darker, the spots 

 turning into bars; the back, scapulars, rump and upper wing-coverts 

 chocolate-brown, paler than on the head ; the back with large white bars ; 

 the lesser wing-coverts with a few white spots ; the greater wing-coverts with 

 large white spots on both webs ; the rump barred with white ; the scapu- 

 lars with large bar-like drops of white, the exterior feathers, which are 

 usually concealed, being almost entirely white with ferruginous brown 

 bars ; primary-coverts plain rufous-brown ; the general colour of the 

 wings much the same as that of the upper plumage, but duller; the 

 primaries and secondaries barred with fulvous on both webs, except in 

 the first four primaries, where the outer webs are barred with whitish ; 

 the tertiaries broadly barred with white, turning to rufous bars at the 

 bases of the feathers ; tail much the same tint as the back, the central 

 rectrices very sparsely barred with whitish (probably disappearing with 

 age), the others barred narrowly on the outer and broadly on the inner 

 web with fulvescent white ; all the rectrices tipped with dull white ; the 

 whole lower plumage with the under wing-coverts white, with numerous 

 bars of dark brown ; the bases of the feathers, which are very much 

 decomposed and bright fulvous in colour, show through the plumage in 

 patches ; the bars on the thighs narrower and more numerous. 



The young bird has the whole upper plumage white barred with choco- 

 late-brown ; tips to tail-feathers very white and broad ; the whole lower 

 plumage white, closely barred with brown; thighs plain fulvous- white ; 

 facial disk as in the adult. 



