494 QLAUCIDIUM 



autumn. It is nocturnal, hunting, however, chiefly in the early 

 morning and late in the evening. It feeds on lemmings, mice r 

 small birds, and insects, and is bold and voracious. Its note is 

 a monotonous hy, htf, htf, hd, or hy, hy, hy, ho. It breeds in the 

 forests, taking possession of a hole in a tree in which it deposits 

 3 to 4 eggs. Authenticated eggs have been taken in Scandi- 

 navia in May 1850 and in Styria in April 1862. They are 

 pure white, elongated-roundish in shape, rather polished in 

 surface of shell with deep distinct pores widely apart. 



Eggs taken in Sweden, the parent-bird having been captured 

 on the nest, measure 0'97 by 078 to 1*01 by 078, whereas those 

 taken in Styria measure 1*18 by 0'91. 



Dr. von Madarasz has separated under the name G. setipes 

 the southern bird from the Scandinavian, as having the toes 

 almost bare, but specimens I have examined from Bosnia have 

 the feet as well covered as the ordinary Swedish form. 



704. COLLARED OWL. 

 OLAUCIDIUM BRODIEI. 



Glaucidmm Irodiei (Burton;, P.Z.S. 1835, p. 152; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. 

 Mus. ii. p. 212 ; Blanf. F. Brit. Ind. Birds, iii. p. 307 ; Berezovski 

 and Bianchi,' Ptitz. Gan-su, p. 43 ; Athene minutilla Gould, B. of 

 A. i. pi. 15 (1870;) ; G. immaculatus, Hume, Rough Notes, p. 420 

 (1870). 



$ ad. Crown, cheeks, and ear-coverts brown, finely spotted with dull 

 white or buffy white ; below the nape a broad band of rufous buff, broadly 

 marked with black ; rest of the upper parts, wings, and tail brown, barred 

 with buffy white ; scapulars marked with large white spots ; chin and 

 breast pure white ; sides of breast and a band across the upper breast dark 

 brown ; rest of the under parts white, broadly striped or barred with dark 

 brown ; toes bare ; bill, cere, and feet yellowish green ; iris bright yellow ; 

 claws horny. Culmen 0'7, wing 3'8, tail 2'4, tarsus 0'8 inch. 



Hal. The Himalayas west to Murree ; the hills south of the 

 Assam valley ; the Karennee and Tenasserim ranges : Perak ; 

 Southern China; south-west Kan-su. 



Inhabits the hill forests, and is somewhat diurnal in its 

 habits. It feeds on birds, small mammals, insects, lizards, and 

 frogs. Its note is a clear whistle, ivhoo, whoo, whoo, whoo. It 

 breeds usually in May or June, and lays in holes in trees 4 pure 

 white, round eggs. Its nest has been found containing young- 

 birds, but, so far as I am aware, only one broken egg has as yet 

 been obtained. 



