Aves. 47 



Mr. Lister has given a very good description of this species, 

 and has pointed out its simihirity to A. griseiguJaris. It tliffers 

 fi'om the latter species, however, in its much darker slaty-grey 

 head, slaty-grey bars on the chest, and in the lighter underwing- 

 and tail- coverts, which are barred with white and vinous rufous, 

 and are not so uniform vinous as in ^. griseigiilaris. 



[The Goshawk is common all over the island, and is very 

 destructive to young poultry in Hying Fish Cove. Its food 

 consists of the White-eyes, Ground-Thrushes, and Ground- Pigeons, 

 and it is said to kill the large Fruit-Pigeon also, but this I never 

 saw. In the crop of one there were remains of numerous locusts. 

 The nest is made of twigs and pieces of creepers, and is placed 

 near the top of a high tree. A nest with one young was found 

 on January 24th. The ciy is a shai-p 'tweet-tweet-tweet,' and 

 when shooting Friiit-Pigeons in the high trees a rougli imitation 

 of this call was often employed to cause them to thrust out their 

 head, so that they could be more easily seen, and would present 

 a better mark. — C. W. A.] 



22. Ninox natalis. (Plate IT.) 



Ninox natalis, Lister, P.Z.S., 1888, p. 525. 



Xo. 37, (J ad. Flying Fish Cove, August 8, 1897. 

 Xo. 65, 9 ad. Flying Fish Cove, October 24, 1897. 

 ]S^o. 66, (J ad. Flying Fish Cove, November 9, 1897. 

 No. 70, 5 ad. Flying Fish Cove, November 24, 1897. 

 9 ad. Flying Fish Cove, December 24, 1897. Iris and feet 

 bright lemon-yellow. 



The sexes do not differ in colour, and there is scarcely any 

 variation in size, as the males have the wing 7 •6-7-8 inches and 

 the females 7 -4-7 -8. 



[The Owl is most often seen in thickets of screw-pine and in the 

 denser parts of the forest. Its food consists of lizards, locusts, 

 white-eyes, and perhaps rats. The nest I never found, but 

 Mr. Hugh Ross told me it is usually placed in a screw-pine and 

 made of twigs. The peculiar cry, resembling veiy closely the bark 

 of a small dog, has been described by Mr. Lister. In 'the forest 

 after sun-down several of these birds could be heard barking in 

 answer to one another. They usually begin with a scarcely 

 audible 'chuk-chuk,' which is repeated crescendo till they break 

 out into a regular bark, which may be repeated a considerable 

 number of times ; this may stop suddenly or die away gradually 

 as it began.— C. W. A.] 



