105 [Vol. xxxiii. 



German New Guinea, which had been collected by Mr. 

 Albert S. Meek. 



The new forms were described by Mr. Rothschild and 

 Dr. Ernst Hartert as follows : — 



Ninox meeki, sp. n. 



Adult male. Upperside rufous-brown, scapulars, lowest 

 rump-feathers, and upper tail-coverts with narrow white bars. 

 Outer webs of the primaries brown with light rufous bars, 

 inner webs dark brown with faintly indicated paler bars ; 

 secondaries similar, but with wide yellowish-buff bars on the 

 inner webs. Upper wing-coverts like the back, the median 

 and greater series lighter and with white cross-bars. 

 Rectrices dark brown with six or seven pale cross-bars and 

 similar tips. Throat pale tawny-ochraceous with rufous- 

 brown stripes, rest of the underside white with rufous-brown 

 or rufous streaks, and generally with rufous edges to 

 the feathers. Bristles over nostrils black, whitish towards 

 base. Ear-coverts dark brown with a greyish tinge. Under 

 wing-coverts white or rusty-buff with rufous-brown spots. 

 Tarsus and toes not feathered, but with numerous bristles. 

 Iris pale yellow ; bill slaty-blue, tip light horn-colour ; feet 

 creamy yellow. 



Adult female. Similar to the male, but with buff spots and 

 bars on the head and nape, while the white or buff bars on 

 the rump reach further up towards the back. 



Culmen from cere 17-19 mm.; wing, ^230-240, ? 220- 

 230; tail 120-130 ; tarsus about 37. 



Hub. Admiralty Islands. 



Type in the Tring Museum : $ ad. No. 5985. Manus, 

 6.ix. 13. A. S. Meek coll. 



Obs. Mr. Meek sent nine skins of this interesting Owl. 

 The five examples with more or less spotted heads are 

 marked " female," and three of those with uniform heads 

 " male/" the fourth " female " ; in this last specimen the 

 sex has probably been wrongly determined, and the sexual 

 differences are as described above. Some, if not all, of those 

 with spotted heads are evidently adult, so that this cannot 

 be a juvenile character. 



