Vol. xxxi.] 38 



St. Vinceut^ West Indies^ was believed to be the same as the 

 bird from Dominica — i. e.^ T. a. mgrescens Lawrence ; but 

 recently it has been sej)arated as a new subspecies under tlie 

 name of Hyhris nigrescens noctividus [Barbour^ Proc. Biol. 

 Soc. AVasliington, xxiv. p. 57 (1911)] (Grenada). 



It is quite clear that the Owl from St. Vincent, West 

 Indies, must be called T. a. insularis Pelzeln, while that from 

 the Cape Verde Islands remains unnamed. 



I propose to call it 



Tyto alba detorta, subsp. n. 



This Owl differs widely from the West-Indian T. a. insularis 

 Pelzeln in its larger size and in the different markings on the 

 underparts of the body, but it is so closely allied to the dark 

 continental form of the European Barn-Owl, that one can 

 only separate it from the latter by the larger black and 

 white spots on the upperside and by the more thinly 

 feathered metatarsus. From the smaller T. a. gracilirostris 

 of the eastern Canary Islands it differs in its generally larger 

 dimensions, and from T. a. maculata of tropical Africa it is 

 distinguished by the constantly dark orange-brown colour of 

 the underside and by the smaller spots. Wing 287-300 mm. 

 (Five specimens examined.) 



On behalf of Mr. R. M. Baurington, Mr. Ogilvie-Grant 

 exhibited a remarkable variety of the Common Teal 

 (Querquedula crecca) Avhich had been killed at Thurles, 

 Co. Tipperary, on the loth of October, 1912. ■ 



The bird was a male with the head and neck in almost 

 normally coloured immature plumage, but with the re- 

 mainder of the body and wings mostly white. The upper- 

 parts showed the finely vermiculated markings of the adult ; 

 the chest was spotted with black ; the secondaries were 

 black on the greater part of the outer web, with the basal 

 part metallic green, but this colour did not extend to the 

 tips of the quills on the innermost feathers as in normally 

 marked specimens ; the primary-quills and tail-feathers were 

 more or less blackish towards the tip ; the upper tail-coverts 



