STRIX WALLEKI, 



(Walle7''s Owl.) 



CiioWN, back, and upper tail covcri-s, blackisli brown intermingled witli tawny buff, each feather having a small white spot at the tip ; facial 

 disk, bufty white, with a patch of blackish brown in front of the eye ; fringe around the disk, bright buif, the shafts of each feather marked 

 with black ; wings, blackish brown intermingled with bright tawny of a deeper tint than that of the back, and spotted with white at the tip 

 of each feather ; from the shoulder to the body, a broad piece of bright tawny buff speckled with numerous small black spots ; primaries and 

 secondaries, bright tawny buff, tipped for a considerable portion of their length with brownish, the larger portion of their inner webs, pure 

 white — the former are barred with four, and the latter with three, bands of blackish brown; scapularies, blackish brown with a spot of white 

 at the tip of each feather ; central feathers of tail, beautiful bright buff, with four black bands, the nearest of the lateral feathers partake of 

 the same color, but those edging the tail are much paler, being nearly white and the bands almost obsolete ; sides of the neck, chest, and 

 upper portion of the abdomen, buff, becoming gradually paler towards the tail ; the whole of the under surface marked with small brown 

 spots near the tip of each feather ; thighs, buff externally and white internally ; under side of wings, white, slightly mixed with buff, and 

 marked with arrow-head-shaped spots of blackish brown ; under surface of quills, white, banded and tipped with dark brown ; tarsi, long, 

 rather slender, and feathered for about half their length, the remainder portion being clothed with short hairs ; legs and feet, yellowish flesh 

 color ; bill, flesh color ; irides, dark brown. 



The Female is not so bright in color, but in other respects is very similar to the Male. 



Length, 16 inches ; wing, 13 ; tail, 5 ; bill 1| ; tarsus, 3i ; middle toe and claw, 2^, 



This fine new species of Owl is now figured for the first time, and it is with much pleasure I name it after the discoverer, 

 Mr. Eli Waller, of Brisbane, to whose large and valuable collection I am so much indebted for most of my figures, and to whose scientific and 

 extensive practical knowledge of the birds of Australia, and energy and perseverance as a collector, 1 am happy to bear testimony. It does 

 not often happen in a country so well searched as Australia, since the visit of Mr. Grould in the years 1838, '39, '40, that so important and 

 interesting a bird as the present, is brought to light ; and the fact of this new species having been shot in the immediate neighbourhood of 

 Brisbane, may serve to encourage others interested in the study of ornithology (more especially in the newly settled districts, where novelties 

 are mostly to be looked for), to endeavor to add their contributions to the very numerous and interesting fauna of their adopted country. 

 Two specimens (a male and female) are in Mr. Waller's collection. 



The figure is very much less than the natural size, as the measurements given above will sufficiently shew. Nothing is as yet 

 known of the habits of this bird, but it doubtless assimilates in every important respect to the family in general. Its nearest ally is Strix 

 Delicatulus, a much smaller species, which, like the present, has the tarsus naked for about half its length, the remainder of the Australian 

 Owls yet known being feathered to the toes. 



