THE BARN-OWL. 167 



Family STRIGID^E. 



Genus STBIX, Linn. 



546. STRIX FLAMMEA. 



THE BARN-OWL. 



Strix flammea, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 133 ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds B. Mus. ii. p. 291 ; 

 Oates, S. F. v. p. 142; Leyge, Birds Ceylon, p. 164; Dresser, Birds Eur.v. 

 p. 237, pi. ; Oates, S. F. x. p. 181. Strix; javanica, Gm. Syst. hat. i. p. 295 ; 

 Jerd. B. Ind. i. p. 117 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 59 j Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 22 ; 

 Bl. $ Wold. B. Burm. p. 68; Hume Sf Dav. S. F. vi. p. 26; Hume, S. F. viii. 

 p. 83; Biw/ham, S. F. viii. p. 191; Scully, S. F. viii. p. 229. Strix indica, 

 Blyth,Ibis, 1860, p. 251; Hume, Rough Notes, ii. p. 342; id. S. F. Hi. p. 37; 

 Armstrong, S. F. iv. p. 300. Aluco flammeus, Seebohm, Brit. Birds, i. p. 148. 



Description. Male and female. Facial disk white, with a rufous spot in 

 front of the eye ; ruff yellowish buff, each feather mottled with brown ; 

 lower plumage light buff spotted with brown ; upper plumage and wing- 

 coverts fulvous ; the terminal halves of the feathers brown, vermiculated 

 with whitish, and each feather with a black and a white spot near the tip ; 

 tail fulvous, barred and vermiculated with brown ; wings the same, but the 

 inner webs chiefly white. 



Bill pale bluish, with a tinge of pink on the culmen ; mouth flesh- 

 colour ; cere flesh-colour, turning to yellow in front ; iris dark brown ; 

 legs pinkish brown ; claws horny brown. 



Length 14*5 inches, tail 5, wing 11*5, tarsus 2*5, bill from gape 1*7. The 

 sexes are of about the same size. 



The Barn-Owl is abundant over the whole of Pegu and Arrakan. 

 Mr. Davison did not meet with it in any part of Tenasserim ; but Capt. 

 Bingham records two birds from that Division captured near Moulmein. 



This Owl, with slight modifications of plumage (and I follow Mr. Sharpe 

 in uniting them all under one name), is found over the whole world in the 

 tropical and temperate zones. Mr. Seebohm limits its range to forty 

 degrees of latitude on each side of the equator, except in Western Europe, 

 where climatic conditions cause it to range still further from the equator. 



The Barn-Owl is found in Burmah chiefly in woods and groves of trees, 

 and not unfrequently in the roofs of large buildings, such as the barracks 

 at Thayetmyo. It utters its screeching cry from November to January, 

 and is silent or nearly so at other times. At Kyeikpadein these Owls 

 were very abundant and noisy, and were in the habit of entering my bed- 

 room at night, probably in pursuit of Bats, with which the bungalow was 



