ORIENTAL HAWK-OWLS 155 



India, and the large barred owlet (G. cuculoides), ranging from the Himalaya to 

 Burma, and attaining a length of 11 inches. The former does not exceed 8 inches 

 in length, and has nine bars of white, including the one at the tip, whereas in the 

 larger species there are seven such bands. The large barred owlet has the whole 

 plumage brown, banded with live transverse white bars, giving it a very unmistakable 

 appearance ; but in the jungle owlet there is a large white patch at the base of the 

 neck in front. The latter species is dispersed in forest regions all over India, and 

 breeds in April and May, laying three or four eggs in the hollows of trees. These 

 owlets are strong fliers, and will kill small birds on the wing in the daytime. Mr. 

 Hume says that they can easily be tamed, and will then eat cooked meat, frogs, 

 insects, or almost anything that may be offered them. A pair he had in captivity 

 " were excessively noisy birds, both by night, and even at intervals by day, in fact 

 at times a perfect nuisance. Dogs were their abomination, and in the way in 

 which, menaced by a puppy, who evidently thought it famous fun, they would 

 lower their heads, set out their wings and ear-coverts, and ' curse and swear ' (a 

 mixture of hissing and chattering, utterly indescribable in words), was really 

 quite edifying!" The same writer observes that in the Eastern Himalaya the 

 large barred owlet may frequently be seen sitting on trees or stumps in the full 

 glare of the midday sun. Its presence may be easily recognised by its chuckling, 

 vibrating call. It generally nests in hollow oaks, at a height of twenty or thirty 

 feet from the ground, laying four eggs in a clutch. 

 Oriental Hawk- As the name hawk -owl is commonly applied both to the members 



Owls. O f t ne present genus, and also to the true hawk-owl (Surnia), it is 

 necessary to distinguish the former by the affix Oriental. These owls agree with 

 those of the preceding genus in the shortness of the first primary quill of the 

 wing ; the interval between its tip and that of the third primary being in all the 

 group either equal to a greater than the length of the metatarsus. Whereas, 

 however, in the pigmy owls the wing was short and rounded, in the present 

 genus it is long and pointed, the interval between its points and the end of the 

 tail being not more than equal to the length of the metatarsus. From their 

 nearest allies, the Oriental hawk-owls are distinguished by the short metatarsus, 

 of which only a very small portion is bare. Most of them have relatively small 

 heads, in which the face-disc may be very imperfectly developed, and short bills ; 

 while the tail is long and firm, and the plumage of the wings likewise hard. 

 The genus comprises a large number of species, ranging from India through 

 China, Japan, and the Malay region to Australia and New Zealand, and likewise 

 represented in Madagascar. The species vary greatly in size, the great Australian 

 hawk-owl (Ninox strenua) attaining a length of 24 inches. Writing of the 

 Indian species, Jerdon remarks, that in the small size of its head, the slight 

 development of the disc, the firm plumage, and the length of the tail, these owls 

 approach the diurnal birds of prey. 



The Indian brown hawk-owl (N. lugubris), which measures 12 inches in length, 

 and is of a uniform glossy brown above, with a greyish tinge on the head, is 

 common in the wooded parts of India. Although generally nocturnal, it occasion- 

 ally issues forth before dark ; and its food is stated to be mainly insects, although 

 it will also eat small mammals and reptiles. 



