152 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF INDIA. 



that the Nicobar bird appears to be slightly more rufous than the 

 generality of Indian specimens ; but there are some Indian birds 

 that will match it to a shade. Again, the Nicobar bird has the third 

 and fourth quills nearly equal, and the fifth considerably shorter, 

 as in Schlegel's japonicus (Faun. Jap., p. 28); while most Indian 

 birds have the fourth quill the longest, and the third and fifth 

 equal, but I have other Indian birds agreeing in this respect with 

 japonicus; then again some of the Indian birds have the tarsi 

 very much more thinly feathered than the Nicobar birds, but 

 others have these parts very densely feathered. I do not, 

 therefore, looking to the variations in our Indian birds, agree 

 with Mr. Gray in separating lugubris, Tick, from hirsutus, Temm, 

 and as the former name was bestowed in 1837, and the latter 

 about 1830, it must take precedence. The following are the 

 dimensions of a male which we shot at Car Nicobar : — 



Length, 11*4 ; expanse, 27*25 ; tail, from vent, 4*5 ; wing, 8*4 ; 

 tarsus, 1*15 ; wings, when closed, reach to within 0*82 of end of 

 tail; bill, from gape, straight to point, 097. The irides were 

 yellow ; the feet dull, gamboge yellow ; bill blackish ; ridge of 

 both mandibles pale yellowish horny ; cere, dull, sap green. 



This must be a rare species in these islands. Davison never 

 met with it at all, and we only met with a single specimen, and 

 considering how we bustled every place about, six and eight gnns 

 out at a time daily in different directions, we must, had they 

 been at all common, have seen more of them. 



81 bis.— NillOX affiniS, Tyiler. (N. scutellatus, 

 Maff.) (2.) 



The small Hawk Owl of the Andamans and Nicobars is 

 certainly, I should say, not identical with hirsutus, Temm. If 

 identical with any known species, it is to Raffles' scutellatus that 

 it must be assigned. Until, however, we receive Sumatran 

 examples it will be impossible to decide this point. Raffles' 

 description is as follows : — "A hornless species, about 10 inches 

 in length, brown above, lighter, and variegated with white 

 below ; the tail with black bands ; legs feathered to the toes, 

 yellow irides, and wings shorter than the tail." 



Now the length, 10 inches, is really the only thing we have to 

 guide us, and it will be seen from the following dimensions 

 taken from a female shot at Camorta, Nicobars, and a male shot 

 at Dunyleaf Creek, Port Blair, that affinis more nearly agrees, so 

 far as size goes with scutellatus, than with the Indian, Ceylonese, 

 Japanese, and Bornean hirsutus. I may note here that, so far as 

 my present knowledge goes, I am indisposed to separate these 



