14 SECOND YARKAND MISSION. 



Genus ASIO. 

 27. ASIO OTUS. 



Asio otus (L.); Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 227 (1875); Dresser, Ibis, 1875, p. 112; Bidd. Ibis, 

 1881, p. 45; Scully, ibid. p. 424; id. J. A. S. Beng. Ivi. p. 79 (1887) ; Sharpe, Trans. Linn. Soc! 

 (2) Zool. V. pt. 3, p. Q7 (1889). 



Otus vulgaris (Flem.) ; Blanf. East. Persia, ii. p. 116 (1876) ; Scully, Str. F. iv. p. 127 (1876). 



jEgiolius otus, Severtz. Turkest. Jevotn. p. 63 (1873). 



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



No. 922. Sanju, November 1, 1873. 



Nos. 1050, 1052. Yarkand, November 24, 1873. 



No. 1126. Kashghar, December 10, 1873. 



Colonel Biddulph also obtained a specimen about 10 miles east of Yarkand on the 19th 

 of November. He says it was never seen in the hills, but was common in the plains wherever 

 there was any bush-jungle. Dr. Scully states that the Long-eared Owl was common about 

 Kashghar and Yarkand during the winter ; about the beginning of April it migrated, probably 

 towards the forests of Maralbashi and Aksu, where he was told that it was known to breed. 

 In Turki it is called ' Mashak Yapalak,' or Cat-Owl. 



Genus CARINE. 



28. Cahine bactriana. (Plate III.) 



Athene noctua orientalis, Severtz. Turkest. Jevotn. p. 63 (1873). 



? Carine glaux, Dresser^ lbis_, 1875_, p. 110. 



Carine plumipes, Swinh.; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 137 (1875). 



Athene bactriana, Scully, Str. Y, iv. p. 130 (1876). 



Carine bactriana (Hutton) ; Barnes, Str. F. ix. p. 215 (1880) ; C. Swinh. Ibis, 1882, p. 100; Scully, 



J. A. S. Beng. Ivi. p. 79 (1887) ; Sharpe, Trans. Linn. Soc. (2) Zool. v. pt. 3, p. Q7 (1889). 

 Athene plumipes meridionalis , Prjev. in BoAvley^s Orn. Misc. ii. p. 155 (1877) ; Menzbier in Zarudn. Ois. 



Transcasp. p. 22 (1885). 



No. 1209. Kashghar, January 18, 1874.— Length 8*8 inches, wing 6-7, tail I'S ; expanse 23'0. 



Iris pure sulphur-yellow ; bill greenish yellow ; feet greenish, claws bluish horny black ; 



cere pale greenish white and swollen; nostrils dark green. Closed wings reach 



within f inch of end of tail. 

 No. 1381. Kashghar, March 8, 1874. 



In Dr. Stoliczka's diary is a note : — " Yangishahr. On the 6th of February Oomra saw 

 an Athene carrying grass for its nest in the hole of a bank of a river." 



Colonel Biddulph procured a male at Kashghar on the 5th of March, 1874. He writes : 



" Shot in the wall of the fort. It was common about Yarkand. I saw a small Owl that I 

 believe to have been this species, between Tashkurgan and the Pamir." 



Dr. Scully observes : — '' I first got this species at Kashghar in November, two birds havino- 

 been brought to me alive. This little Owl was common near Kashghar and Yarkand during 

 the whole winter and was observed at Sanju in August. It is a permanent resident and 

 breeds in the country, living principally in holes in mud-banks and feeding on mice, lizards, 

 and beetles. I have seen it flying about freely in the daytime, but its habits are reported 

 to be chiefly nocturnal. The Turki name is ' Chaghundak.' " 



