AND IN PARTS OF WANAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSORE. 343 
[65.—Syrnium ocellatum, Less. The Mottled Wood- 
Owl. 
Southern base of the Nilghiris, north of the Collegal taluk. 
South-west Mysore.—A. O. H.] 
[68.—Asio accipitrinus, Pal?. The Short-eared Owl. 
Certainly occurs on the lower slopes of the Nilghiris, as it 
does also by the way on the Pulneys.—A. O. H.] 
69.—Bubo bengalensis, Frankl. The Rock Horned- 
Owl. 
Very rare on the Nilghiris. On two occasions I have flushed 
it from under a bush growing on the bank of a dry ravine, 
and on several occasions I have flushed a large owl from 
among rocks which I at the time identified as S. indranee, but 
which probably really belonged to this species. 
71.—Bubo nipalensis, Hodgs. The Forest Eagle-Owl., 
This grand Owl occurs sparingly on the Nilghiris, confining 
itself to the larger sholas, so that the only time it is seen is 
when beating for big game, for even after dusk it seldom leaves 
the shelter of the jungles. Usually I have found it singly, 
occasionally in pairs. It is a permanent resident on the 
Nilghiris. The native shikarees say that it continually kills 
hares, young jackal and young muntjac. 
72.—Ketupa ceylonensis, Gm. The Brown Fish-Owl. 
This Fish Ow] used to be not uncommon in the sholas of the 
Nilghiris, but of late years it seems almost to have disappeared. 
It extends also through the Wynaad, for I flushed one on the 
banks of the river near Manantoddy. As stated by Jerdon, its 
food consists largely of crabs, which abound in all the swamps 
and marshes on the Nilghiris. It is usually found in pairs. 
[74.Scops pennatus, Hodgs. The Indian Scops Owl. 
I believe I have seen this from Nilghiris; and a pair were 
certainly sent us from the Wynaad.—A, O. H.] I have since 
obtained a beautiful specimen of this species from Seegore.— 
MWD. 
75 quat.—Scops malabaricus, Jerd. The Malabar 
Scops Owl. 
The Malabar Scops Owl does not ascend the hills to any height. 
I have never seen it above 4,000 feet, but when it does occur, 
it is apparently not very rare, for every night its rather melan- 
