REVIEW. 825 



The tenth order, the owls (Striges), " form ahiiost as natural an 

 order as the parrots, and occupy, both in external characters and in 

 their anatomjj a position between " them and the true Accipitres. So 

 far our author, Jerdon, though he did not give them an order to 

 themselves, points out that they approach, " on the one side, the 

 harriers, which have large ears, a ruff, and noiseless flight, and, on 

 the other side, have some affinity with the parrots," one genus of which, 

 the Australasian StrigopSj is very owlish in appearance and ways. 

 At least one parrot has, within modern times, become carnivorous ; but 

 its full style and title are not here "convenient." It is a New 

 Zealand bird, and manages to kill sheep by the hideous process of 

 biting a hole through their backs. It may be added, although the 

 authority is not very scientific, that the Katkaris of Kolaba count the 

 " harrier-eagle" {Spilornis) to be a sort of owl. Many of the owls are 

 very widely distributed, and the long lists of synonyms attached to 

 their titles show that we have now been rid of a lot of unnecessary 

 species. The first on the list, Stnx fiammea^ is a case in point, the 

 Indian " barn-owl " or " screech-owl " being now identified with the 

 European bird. Further thanks are due from it and us to our 

 author for that he has found " a sufficient excuse " for not disguising 

 it as Aluco. He points out that several of its Indian names mean 

 " bad bird," or " death-bird," indicating an old and wide-spread 

 superstition. Mr. Swettenham, in a recent book, records a Malay 

 belief respecting another owl (probably Huhua orientalis) that its 

 appearance and cry announce the death of a raja ; and probably 

 some idea of the kind is current wherever owls are prevalent. The 

 Maratha name only indicates the bird's cry. It is Ghuhad^ the second 

 syllable short. We have only one other Indian Strix (^S. Candida), 

 the grass-owl, often put up by quail-shooters. Mr. Blanford 

 denies it to " the Bombay Deccan" and, by exclusion, to our area 

 generally, leaving us another " grass-owl " (Asio accipitrinus\ which 

 we share with most countries outside the Polar circles. It is worth 

 while here to remark that this is the horned grass-owl ; so, if any 

 Bombay sportsman shoots a grass-owl without horns, he is requested to 

 attend to it and inform the editor of this journal. Asio otus, the long- 

 eared owl, is found in Sind at times and is even recorded from Cutch. 

 But it is a forest bird properly. We have two " wood-owls " {Syrniwn) 

 and one fish-owl {Ketupa) commonest upon forest rivers. 



