82 



door Owl of Europe {Strix Jlammea\ a comparison of several 

 specimens with the European bird satisfies Colonel Sykes that 

 Dr. Horsfield was right in separating it. Neither sex is un- 

 spotted white underneath, nor has the Indian species a white 

 disc. Sexes alike, with the exception of the plumage of the 

 female being a shade or two lighter than that of the male. 

 Length, inclusive of tail, 17 inches : tail 5 inches. One of 

 Colonel Sykes's specimens was captured alive while lying on 

 its back on the ground, defending itself against the attacks of 

 a body of crows. Irides reddish dark brown. 



20. Strix Indkanee, Strix capita supra pallide brinuieo, phimis 



albido mnrglnntis ; dorso imo, pteromatibusque rufescerdi-brun- 

 neis, fasciis albisj^usco marginatis notatis ; dorso medio, ptilis, 

 remigibus cmidaque brunneis, his riifescentijxtsciatis, Jiac fasciis 

 albidis grncilibus notata, ad apicem albo marginal a ; gula cris- 

 soque albescentibus ; ahdomine subrujb, brunneo gracililer Jcis- 

 ciato ; regione circumoculari nigra ; disco riifo, brunneo mar- 

 ginato. 



Irides rufo-brunneae. Longitude corporis 21 unc, caudce 9. 

 Inhabits the woods of the Ghauts : rare. The specimen de- 

 scribed is a young bird, and a female. 



Genus Kelupa, Less. 



21, Kehipa Leschenaidti, Less., Traite d'Ornith. p. 114. Slrix 



Leschenaulli, Temm., PI, Col. 20. Scops? Leschenaulli, Steph., 



vol. 13. p. 53, 

 A rare bird in the Dukhun. Independently of the naked legs of 

 this bird, its aquiline aspect authorizes its separation from the 

 genera with which it had been placed previously to M. Les- 

 son's arrangement. 



Genus Noctun, Sav. 



22, Noel. Indica, Frankl. Peenglah of the Mahrattas. 



Irides King's yellow. Sexes alike. Mice and beetles found in 

 the stomach. An exceedingly noisy bird, and frequently heard 

 chattering during the day-time in dense trees. The Mahrattas 

 have a superstition respecting this species j and a class of per- 

 sons, called from it Peengleh, live on the credulity of the people 

 by pretending to consult it, and predict events. Length, in- 

 clusive of tail, 91 to 11 inches: tail 2^ to 3 inches. Numerous 

 in the Dukhun, and found in families of four or five. 



Order II. INSESSORES, Vigors. 



Tribus Fissirostres, Cuv. 



Fam. Meropidce. — Genus Meropis, Linn. 



23. Merops viridis, Linn, Indian Bee-ealer, Lath, Gucpicr a collier 



dc Madagascar, Buff". 



