334 Mr. D, A. Bannerman on the [Ibis, 



Carine noctua. Little Owl. 



The claim of the Little Owl to a place in this list depends 

 on the important queries 



(1) What species is Noctua mino?' Brisson from the 



Canary Islands, as interpreted by Serra ? 



(2) Was Serra's identification correct ? 



Under the above name Serra recorded (Ornitolojiia 

 Canaria) a bird which he collected Q'recogido'^^ at Tegueste 

 in Tenerife. I have not been able to examine Serra^s 

 original work for myself. 



Dr. Hartert is of the opinion (Nov. Zool. 1901, p. 307) 

 that N. minor = Athene (^Carine) noctua^ or perhaps a north 

 African subspecies. 



Cabrera considered ^'Noctua minor "" to be a resident bird 

 in Tenerife (Catalogo, p. 34), but Polatzek (Orn. Jahrb. 

 1908, p. 161) is inclined to think that Cabrera really 

 intended the Scops Owl [Otus scops) when he wrote 

 N. minor ! 



I have placed this species in Appendix A although I am 

 by no means certain that it should not be relegated to 

 Appendix B. 



If Dr. Hartert's view is correct, the Little Owl which is 

 said to have found its way to the Canaries may have been 

 C. n. noctua, C. n. glaux, or even (though less probably) 

 C. n. Sahara. 



Range. Typical C. n. noctua \_Strix noctua Scopoli, Annus 

 Hist. Nat. 1769, p. 22 — TyP^ locality: Carniola] is restricted 

 to Europe. 



C. n. glaux [^Noctua glaux Savigny, Descr. Egypte, Syst. 

 Ois. Egypte, 1810, p. 45 — Type locality: Egypt] is a 

 subspecies confined to north Africa ranging from Egypt to 

 Morocco. 



C.n.saharce [^Strix sahar(B'K\e\n^c\vmii\i^ ' Falco,' v. 1909, 

 p. 19 — Type locality : Mouleina near Biskra] appears to 

 inhabit southern Tunisia, southern Algeria, south of the 

 Atlas, and south-east Morocco, south of the Atlas. 



