BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 161 



and flanks, striped with brown ; stripes on flanks, narrower ; 

 wings and tail, barred with brown ; irides, rich yellow ; bill, 

 black ; legs and feet, covered with buffish coloured downy 

 feathers. Length, about fourteen inches. The female 

 differs only in being larger and a little more rufous in 

 colour. The young are similar to the adults. 



TENGMALM'S OWL. 



TENGMALM'S Owl (Nyctala Tengmalmi, Gmelin) is a rare 

 autumn migrant to the British Isles. It is a resident 

 in the northern parts of the Palearctic Region, and is also 

 met with in Central Europe. The adult has the upper 

 parts brown, more or less spotted with white; the spots 

 on the top of the head are small, those on the wing- 

 coverts and back are larger ; tail-feathers, barred with white ; 

 under parts, white, washed with pale buff and greyish, and 

 marked with irregular bars and streaks of dark brown ; 

 irides, vivid yellow ; bill, straw colour ; feet, covered with 

 whitish feathers. Length, about nine inches. The female 

 is a little larger than the male. (P. 162.) 



