1879.] MR. R. B. SHARPE ON HELIODILU3 SOUMAGNII. 175 



7. A Note on Heliodilus souinagnii, Graudidier. By R. 

 BowDLER SharpEj F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c., Department of 

 ZoologVj British Museum. 



[Eeceived February 4, 1879.] 



The British Museum has recently acquired a skin of Heliodilus 

 soumagnii from Mr. Higgins, of 22 Bloomsbury Street. Tliis very 

 interesting specimen, which I now exhibit, was obtained in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Antananarivo, and formed part of the same small con- 

 signment as the new Dromceocercus, which also lies upon the table. 

 The genus Heliodilus is of very great interest to ornithologists, as 

 having formed the subject of an important communication by Prof. 

 Alphonse Milne-Edwards to the French Academy (' ComptesRendus,' 

 Dec, 1877) ; and I have had great pleasure in receiving such a de- 

 sideratum for our national collection, which gives me the opportu- 

 nity of comparing together Strix, Phodilus, and Heliodilus. 



In my ' Catalogue of Birds ' (vol. ii. p. 289) I separated the Stri- 

 gidce as a separate family from the Bubonidce, and included in the 

 first-named family the Barn-Owls and the Phodili, reserving every 

 other Owl for the family BubonidcB, which, of course, greatly pre- 

 dominates in rmmber. I take the present opportiuiity of acknow- 

 ledging an oversight, which was unintentional on my part ; and that 

 was, not to have mentioned in the ' Catalogue ' that the institution 

 of these two principal groups was derived from Messrs. Sclater and 

 Salvin's notes, as published in Professor Newton's edition of Yarrell's 

 British Birds — a fact that should have been stated at the time. 



In a previous communication made by Professor Alphonse Milne- 

 Edwards to the French Academy of Sciences on Dec. 17, 1877, he 

 shows that in the form of its sternum and in other peculiarities of 

 the skeleton, Phodilus is one of the Bubonidce, and suggests that it 

 comes near Syrnium. It is curious that every author has placed the 

 genus near the Barn-Owls, to which the form of the facial disk and 

 the red plumage somewhat assimilate it. Ou reexamining our spe- 

 cimen of Phodilus, 1 also perceive that an important external cha- 

 racter, the serration of the inner edge of the middle claw, is wanting ; 

 and thereby further evidence is afforded of the correctness of Prof. 

 Milne-Edwards's remarks. From the shape of its nostril, ear-conch, 

 and facial disk, the genus Phodilus appears to be nearly allied to 

 Scops. 



The new genus Heliodilus\ooks at first sight very much like Pho- 

 dilus, as the typical species H. soumagnii is a red bird of the general 

 aspect of the Bay Owl (^Phodilus badius). On a more careful exa- 

 mination, however, the bird will be found to possess the serrated claw 

 of a Barn-Owl ; and this, with the careful description of the osteology 

 given by Professor Milne-Edwards, conclusively shows that the 

 family of the Barn-Owls, reduced to a single genus Strix by the ab- 

 duction of its time-honoured ally Phodilus, ought to be compensated 

 for the loss by the addition of the still more remarkable Heliodilus. 



