DISTRIBUTION OF BARN-OWLS. 289 



S.E. Africa. It does not seem to have' been procured in Natal by Mr. 

 Ayres or by any other collector ; and Mr. T. E. Buckley only met with one 

 specimen during his journey to the Matabili country, when a male was shot 

 at Palatzi, Bamangwato, on the 20th of October, 1873 (Ibis, 1874, p. 362). 

 The British Museum contains an example from the Transvaal, presented by 

 Mr. Foresman. Dr. Dickinson also met with it at Quilimane, in the Zambesi 

 country (Ibis, 1864, p. 307). 



\J. Mr. Foresman's Transvaal skin is in many respects a very remark- 

 able one, on account of the large size of the black spots on the upper surface. 

 These are generally of about the same size as the white ones ; but in the 

 present example they are about double the size of the latter. The general 

 colour of the bird is dark grey above, white below, slightly washed with 

 orange-buff ; the whole under surface distinctly spotted, the spots very large 

 and triangular, especially distinct on the under wing-coverts and axillaries, 

 several of the feathers on the chest and flanks with wavy bars ; bands on 

 quills /owr, dissolving towards the base ; bands on tail /owr, the subterminal 

 one the narrowest. Total length 13 inches, wing 12*1, tail 5'0, tarsus 2-75, 

 middle toe r25. 



East Africa. 



Zanzibar. Dr. Kirk procured a specimen here (cf. Hartl. P. Z. S. 1867, 

 p. 823). 



Madagascar. Messrs. Pollen and Van Dam found the Barn-Owl common 

 in Madagascar. It was noticed everywhere in abundance in the forests which 

 fringe the river Congoni, at the base of the bay of Passandara, as well as in 

 the httle island of Sacatia, situated near Nossi-bfe. Messrs. Roch and 

 E. Newton noticed it near Antananarivo (Ibis, 1862, p. 269), where also Dr. 

 Meller found it " Uving in the rocks " (P. Z. S. 1863, p. 162). 



Messrs. Finsch and Hartlaub, in their review of the geographical range 



