520 



The Roller-like Birds 



irregularly barred or transversely spotted with fulvous, and the under parts 

 barred as well as striped. Their habits are similar to those of the common 

 species. The only other species that we may mention is the African Short- 

 eared Owl (^4. nisuella), which is a handsome bird, reddish brown above and 

 pale yellow ochre, barred with brown on the body and legs. This species fre- 

 quents swamps and marshy places, remaining concealed during the day amongst 

 long grasses and weeds, going abroad at night to prey upon the water insects, 

 mice, and lizards. The nest is placed on the ground, usually under a clump of 



grass or rushes, and the eggs 

 are only two or three in 

 number. 



Fish Owls. The Fish 

 Owls so-called constitute 

 quite a distinct group (Ke- 

 tupina), distinguished by the 

 fact that the tarsus is gener- 

 ally naked and granular and 

 the soles of the feet covered 

 with prickly scales, much as 

 in the Ospreys. They are 

 comprised in two genera, 

 one of which (Ketupa) is 

 confined to the Oriental re- 

 gion, from Palestine to the 

 Indian peninsula, Malayan 

 peninsula, and China, and is 

 provided with large ear-tufts, 

 while the other (Scotopelia} 

 is exclusively African and is 

 marked by the absence of 

 ear-tufts. 



The Oriental Fish Owls 

 (Ketupa) are large, powerful 

 birds, with large, well-curved and sharp-edged claws and large, strong bills. 

 The wings are rounded and do not reach to the end of the moderately 

 long tail, while the facial disk is poorly marked, especially above. Of the 

 four recognized species the Indian or Brown Fish Owl (K. zeylonensis) 

 is, perhaps, the best known. It is a large bird, nearly twenty-five inches 

 in length, rufescent brown or dull rufous above, the feathers streaked with 

 black down their centers and more or less mottled with fulvous on the webs, 

 the quills and tail-feathers dark brown with paler mottled whitish brown 

 bands, while the throat and lower parts are whitish, narrowly barred with 

 brownish rufous, each feather with a dark shaft line. This species, which 

 is common throughout India, Ceylon, and Burma, frequents well-wooded 

 regions near the sea, rivers, or large bodies of water, generally passing the day 



FIG. 161. Pel's Fish Owl, Scotopelia peli. 



