ATHENE. 301 



longest (4th exceptionally), the 1st shorter than the 5th and not 

 shorter than the 8th; tail moderate; tarsus feathered; toes clad 

 above with feathers or bristles. 



I do not regard Heteroylaux as distinct. The wing is slightly 

 more rounded and the nostril a little farther from the anterior 

 border of the cere, but neither difference is of generic import- 

 ance, and the plumage is precisely similar. 



The genus Athene is found in the warmer temperate regions of 

 the Old World, in India, and Upper Burma. Three species are 

 Indian. 



Key to the Species. 



a. Abdomen transversely barred. 



a'. Crown distinctly spotted ; 1st quill longer 



than 7th A . brama, p. 301. 



b'. Crown unspotted or indistinctly spotted ; 1st 



quill = 8th A. blewitti, p. 303. 



b. Abdomen longitudinally streaked A. bactriana, p. 303. 



1180. Athene brama. The Spotted Owlet. 



Strix brama, Temm. PL Col. pi. 68 (1823). 



Noctua indica, Frankl. P. Z. S. 1831, p. 115. 



Noctua tarayensis, Hodqs. As. Res. xix, p. 175 (1836). 



Athene brama, Blyth, Cat. p. 39 ; Horsf. $ M. Cat. i, p. 65 ; Jerdon, 

 B. 1. i, p. 141 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1866, p. 257 ; Hume, Rough Notes, 

 p. 404 ; id. N. $ E. p. 69 ; Godw.-Aust. J. A. S. B. xxxix, pt. 2, 

 p. 04 ; Stoliczka, J. A. S. B. xli, pt. 2, p. 231 ; A. Anderson, P. Z. S. 

 1872, p. 81 ; Hume, S. F. i, p. 164 ; Adam, ibid. p. 369 ; Butler, 

 S. F. iii, p. 450 ; Blanford, Eastern Persia, ii, p. 118 ; Hume, S. F. 

 iv, p. 457 ; Hume & Inglis, S. F. v, p. 16. 



Athene pulchra, Hume, S. F. i, p. 469 (1873) ; Hume $ Oates, S. F. 

 iii, p. 39. 



Carine brama, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. ii, p. 138 ; Davidson fy Wend. 

 S. F. vii, p. 76 ; Ball, ibid. p. 201 ; Cripps, ibid. p. 256 ; Hume, Cat. 

 no. 76 ; Scully, S. F. viii, p. 232 ; Tidal, S. F. ix, p. 38 ; Butler, 

 ib. p. 377; Swinhoe, Ibis, 1882, p. 100; Reid, S. F. x, p. 16; 

 Damson, ibid. p. 344 ; Barnes, Birds Bom. p. 75 ; Oates in Hume's 

 N. $ E. 2nd ed. iii, p. 108. 



Carine pulchra, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. ii, p. 140 (subsp.) ; Hume, Cat. 

 no. 76 quat. ; Anderson, Yunnan E.rped., A ves, p. 576 ; Oates, 

 B. B. ii, p. 157 ; Sharpe, York. Miss., Aves, p. 151, pi. xxi. 



Khukhusat, Khusattia, Ulu, Choyhad (in the South), II.; Katoria 

 Pencha, B. ; Pingald, Mahr. ; Dany Tany-pum, Lepcha ; Paini gante, 

 Tel. (gold eye) ; Andi, Tarn. ; Zee-ywet, Burin. 



Coloration. Lores white or pale buff, with some black tips, a 

 brown spot in front of the eye and a white or whitish one beneath 

 it ; ear-coverts barred brown and whitish ; forehead and super- 

 cilia white ; upper parts, wings, and tail uniform brown, varying 

 from greyish or earthy to rufescent, the crown and nape with 

 numerous small white spots ; remainder of the upjx'r surfaiv with 

 larger and more distant white spots, arranged, as are those on the 

 crown, in pairs, and occasionally becoming bars, especially on the 



