BUBONINJS. 71 



the abdomen ; tarsal feathers barred and mottled ; disc ashy- 

 white, with a few darker specks, and the shafts of the frontal 

 bristles white ; ruff marked with dull brown and rufous. 



In the rufous phase, the upper parts are uniform bright 

 golden chesnut-red, with black shafts, inconspicuous on the 

 back, more distinct on the forehead, ear plumes, and shoulders 

 of the wings ; outer edges of scapulars whitish ; disc rufous with 

 some of the feathers white shafted ; ruff deep brown, with the 

 outer feathers black tipped or black ; beneath deeply tinged 

 with the hue of the back, but with more or less white on the 

 belly and under tail-coverts ; the breast and sides of the belly 

 with brownish central black streaks, the latter with transverse 

 pencillings ; four faint bars on the inner webs of the tail-fea- 

 thers, and the primaries also indistinctly barred with dusky, or 

 mottled brown. The young bird has all the feathers duller 

 red, more black shafted, and there is much white on 

 the lower surface, and the disc has a good deal of white ; the 

 scapulars are white externally, with black tips ; and the bars 

 on the quills and tail-feathers are more distinct, brown, and 

 mottled. 



The Indian Scops Owl occurs sparingly throughout the dis- 

 trict, excepting, perhaps, Guzerat ; it is of retiring habits, 

 frequenting forests and well- wooded districts ; it is, I believe, 

 a permanent resident, but I am not aware of its eggs ever 

 having been taken anywhere within our limits. 



Scops brucei, Hume. 



74. Sept. Butler, Deccan and South Mahratta Country ; Stray 



Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 376 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology of 



Sind,p. 95. 



THE STRIATED SCOPS OWL. 



Length, 9; expanse, 22; wing tj 4 ; tail, 3*25 ; tarsus, 1*45; 

 bill from gape, 73. 



Bill dusky ; irides bright yellow ; legs and feet densely fea- 

 thered ; claws black, well curved, slender and very sharp. 



Cheeks and feathers under the eye greyish-white, excessively 

 finely and indistinctly barred with brown ; the lores and a 

 stripe running up from them to the top of the eye creamy- 

 white ; the longer ones that meet over the base of the upper 

 mandible tinged brownish ; a few tiny dark-brown feathers on 

 the eyelids ; chin and throat creamy- white, with very narrow 

 central shaft stripes towards the tips, and excessively finely ver- 

 micellated with brown ; feathers of the ruff, (which is incon- 

 spicuous), very pale buff, narrowly edged with dark-brown ; the 

 whole of the forehead, crown, back of head, back and sides of 

 neck, back, scapulars, wing-coverts, rump and upper tail-coverts, 

 very pale buff or creamy- white, so minutely and closely pow- 

 dered with pale-brown that looked at from a very little distance 

 the feathers appear to be a uniform pale earthy-brown. 



