from Deelfontein, Cape Colony. 23 



and birds, which, with insects, constitute its food. Like the 

 smaller Kestrel, it becomes very tame in confinement, 

 feeding readily from the hand, and we trained one to fly 

 after mice,.] 



39. AsiO NISUELLA. 



Striae nisuella Daud. Traite, ii. p. 187 (1800, ex Levaill. i. 

 t. 39). 



Asio capensis (Smith) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. ii. p. 239 (1875); 

 id. ed. Layard, p. 78 (1875). 



Asio nisuella, Reichenow, in Werth. Mittl. Hochl. p. 278 

 (1898) ; Sharpe, Hand-1. B. i. p. 280 (1899) ; Reichenow, 

 Vog. Afr. i. p. 659 (1901). 



a, b. S ad. Deelfontein, Aug. 10, 1902. 



Professor Reichenow thinks that Levaillant's plate of the 

 " Chou cou hou " is meant to represent the Cape Eared 

 Owl, which Smith called Otus capensis. Sundevall identified 

 Levaillant's bird as Bubo maculosus, and most authors have 

 followed him. The plate is very bad and difficult to 

 identify, but I thiuk that Prof. Reichenow is right iD his 

 idea, and that it was intended for the Asio. The only other 

 way out of the difficulty is to put the plate aside altogether 

 as unrecognisable, and take the first name which is beyond 

 suspicion. 



[Only two specimens were seen by us in the whole 

 fourteen months. These were very tame and were procured 

 in the long grass at the base of the kopjes.] 



40. Bubo capensis. 



Bubo capensis Smith ; Sharpe, Cat. B. ii. p. 27 (1875) ; 

 id. ed. Layard, p. 70 (1875) ; id. Hand-1. B. i. p. 283 (1899) ; 

 Reichenow, t. c. p. 653 (1901). 



a. ? ad. Deelfontein, April 14, 1902. 



[Only one example was seen, which came and sat on our 

 marquee.] 



41. Bubo maculosus. 



Bubo maculosus (Vieill.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. ii. p. 30 (1875) ; 

 id. ed. Layard, p. 73 (1875) ; id. Hand-1. 15. i. p. 283 (1899) ; 

 Reichenow, t. c. p. 654 (1901). 



