AVES. 13 



No. 842. Shahidiila, October 21, 1873. 

 No. 1459. Panjah, April 13, 1874. 



Nos. 842 and 1459 are of the usual pale type and are matched by others in the Hume 

 Collection from various parts of the north-west of the Indian Peninsula. The British 

 Museum contains eight specimens of this rare species of Scops Owl, including the young bird. 

 The only difference perceptible in the series is that some specimens have a more ochreous 

 tinge, while some are greyer. The specimen from the Karatagh Lake is a distinct link 

 between Scops brucii and S, giu, as it has a good deal of rufous about it, and approaches 

 S. giu from the Persian Gulf. 



Colonel Biddulph states that he shot a specimen between Sirhud and Panjah in Wakhan. 



The specimens of this species now in the Museum are as follows : — 



6 ad. Boonji, near Gilgit, September 20, 1876 {CoL J. Biddulph), — Wing 6*3 inches. 



S ad. Gilgit, March 23, 1880 {Br. J. Scully).— Wm^ 6-3 inches. 



5 ad. Hyderabad, Sind, December 16, 1878 {S. Boig). — Wing 6*0 inches. j 

 . 6 ad. Chanian, S. Afghanistan, April 23, 1880 {J. A. Murray). — Wing 6*0 inches. 



9 juv. Chaman, June 3, 1880 {B. E. Barnes). {Oarine bactriana, Barnes, Str. P. ix. p. 215.) 

 Ad. Sultanpur, Gurgaon, December 7, 1877 (W. N. Chill). — Wing 6*3 inches. 



6 ad. Ahmednuggur, January 20, 1870 (S. J. Bruce), Type of species. — Wing 635 inches. 

 6 ad. Bahuri, Ahmednuggur, Pebruary 1876 (aS'. B. Fairhank). — Wing 6*1 inches. 



Ad. Bahuri, Admednuggur {S, B, Fairhank). — Wing 6*4 inches. 



Genus BUBO. 



25. Bubo ttjrcomanus. 



Bubo mawimus, var. turcomanus, Severtz. Turkest. Jevotn. p. Ill (1873). 



Bubo ignavus (nee Forst.) ; Dresser_, Ibis^ 1875, p. 111. 



Bubo turcomanus (Eversm.) j Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 17 (1875) ; Severtz. Ibis, 1883, p. 55 ; 



Zarucln. Ois. Transcasp. p. 22 (1885). 

 Bubo maximus, Scully, Str. F. iv. p. 129 ; Radde, Ornis, iii. p. 473 (1887). 

 Strix bubo, Homeyer & Tancre, MT. orn. Ver. Wien, 1883, p. 83. 



Dr. Scully's specimens were brought to him alive, and he gives an interesting note 

 concerning them. He observes: — "This fine Owl, called in Turki Sui kush (the ' hui ' 

 bird), was first seen in open waste ground, near Beshkant, on the 4th of Pebruary. It was 

 attended by a flock of Crows, who seemed to be tormenting it, flying after it and surrounding 

 it when settled on the ground, but always keeping at a respectful distance. The bird was 

 again met with at Tungtash, near Karghalik, in August." Mr. Hume notes that the 

 Turkestan specimens of the Eagle-Owl belong to the eastern pale form of the species, 

 B. turcomanus, Eversm. 



Genus NYCTEA. 



26. Nyctea nivea. 



Surnia nivea (L.) ; Severtz. Turkest. Jevotn. p. 63 (1873). 



Nyctea scandiaca, Dresser, Ibis, 1875, p. 110; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 125 (1875). 



Nyctea nivea, Scully, Str. F. iv. p. 128 (1876). 



Strix nivea, Homeyer & Tancre, MT. orn. Ver. Wien, 1883, p. 83. 



A specimen was brought alive to Dr. Scully at Kashghar, in December. The Turki name 

 is 'Dai Kush' (the Noble bird). 



