286 Sm E. NEWTON AND DE. GADOW ON THE DODO 



The greatest length of the two tibiae is 117 mm., which agrees proportionately with 

 that of the two metatarsi, so as to justify us in connecting them with each other as those 

 of the same Hawk, a view which is corroborated by the tibial and metatarsal articulating 

 facets fitting well upon each other. The bony bridge for the m. flexor digitorum 

 communis is very strong, the fibula reaches far down the tibia, the peroneal crest is 

 straight and long, the cnemial crest slants gradually into the anterior inner edge of the 

 shaft of the tibia. 



It is of course impossible to state with certainty whether the metacarpal bones, the 

 total length of which is 55 mm., belong to the same individual ; that they belong to the 

 same species is more than probable, and that they are those of a diurnal bird of prey of 

 the size of Astur melanohucus is unquestionable. All the facets, tendinous impressions 

 and processes, and the sharp, blade-like, deeply scooped-out third metacarpal bone mark 

 the specimen. 



3. Steix sauzieei, sp. nov. (Plate XXXIII. figs. 11-18.) 



The Owls are generally classified according to cranial, sternal, and various purely 

 external characters. None of these points will serve our purpose, because the only 

 bones of Owls in the present collection are those of the humerus, tibia, and metatarsus. 



There is one character, namely the relative length of the tibia to that of the meta- 

 tarsus, which is not only very constant but also very characteristic of the various 

 families and even genera of Owls. From the quotient resulting from the division of 

 the length of the tibia by that of the metatarsus we have come to the conclusion that 

 the majority of the bones in question, namely four metatarsals, three tibiae, and, by 

 inference, two humeri, belonged to a member of the long-footed Owls, of which Strix 

 flammea and its allies is the most pronounced type, while Heliodilus soumagnii from 

 Madagascar closely approaches it, to the exclusion of Carine murivora from Rodriguez, 

 Scops, Scelogl'aux novw-zeakindhe, Spiloglaiix, Gymnoscops, Asia, and Bubo as examples 

 of the several subfamilies and principal genera of the so-called Bubonidw. 



We have much pleasure in distinguishing this new Owl from Mauritius as Strix 

 sauzieri, referring it to the genus Strix, and not to Heliodilus, on the strength of most 

 of those very characters which induced M. A. Milne-Edwards to establish the new 

 genus Heliodilus ^ These characters are, first, the relative length of the tibia 



' It will be convenient to mention here at least those characters which could be tested with the material at 

 our disposal : — 



" L'HeliodQe est un Strigide a pattes robustes, aailes plus oourtes et a tete plus large que les 'EGr^ies (Stri.v). 

 he tibia est plus long et les proportions en sont differentes, car I'extrcmite infe'rieure est plus robuste et le 

 corps de I'os est aussi grelo ; la Crete peronniere est courte et le perone ne se prolonge pas autant que chez les 

 Chouettes et les Hiboux. Si I'os de la jambe est plus long que celui de I'Effraie, celui du pied est au contraire 

 plus court ; mais ses caracteres sont a pen pres les memes que dans ce dernier genre." — A. MUne-Edwards, 

 Comptes fiendus (1878), vol. 85, p. 1282. 



