Wing. 



Tail. 



Tarsus. 



Middle toe 



in. 



in. 



in. 



in. 



12-2 



5-8 



2-65 



1-7 



12-3 



5-8 



2-55 



1-5 



12-8 



5-8 



2-6 



1-7 



12-8 



6-4 



2-8 



1-9 



13-1 



5-9 



2-6 



1-7 



13-3 



6-5 



2-8 



1-75 



13-9 



6-5 



3-1 



1-9 



12-0^ 



6-5 



31 



1-85 



14-4 



7-2 



2-95 



1-95 



14-6 



8-0 



3-2 



2-05 



14-8 



6-9 



3-25 



215 



18 ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL 



Total length, 

 in. 



a. Australia 13-5 



h. S. Australia . . . . . 14*5 



c. Queensland 15*0 



d. Australia 14*5 



e. Australia {Gould) . . . 14' 5 

 /. Queensland {Gould) . . . 16*0 



g. Queensland 17*0 



h. Tasmania {Antarct. Exp.) . 16-0 



t. Tasmania 15"5 



k. Tasmania 20*0 



/. Tasmania ...*.. 17*0 



Strix tenebricosa. 



This is a very rare bird, even in Australia. Mr. Gould (Handb. B. 

 Austr. i. p. 66) says that he beheves it to be '' an inhabitant of the great 

 brushes of New South Wales, those of the Clarence, Richmond, &c.'' The 

 British Museum possesses an example from the neighbourhood of Brisbane, 

 obtained from M. A. Bouvier, out of the great Queensland collection purchased 

 by that gentleman in London in the autumn of 1874. Mr. J. B. White also 

 brought a specimen to this country, among other rare birds of prey obtained 

 by him in the interior of the last-named province Qcf. Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1875, 

 p. 339 ; id. Cat. B. ii. p. 305). Mr. Ramsay (P. Z. S. 1875, p. 580) considers 

 it to be very rare in Queensland, and obtained only one specimen, in the 

 bushes near Dalrymple's Gap. Lastly, Dr. A. B. Meyer (Sitz. Akad. Wien, 

 Ixix. p. 396) has recorded the occurrence of the species in New Guinea, an 

 example having been procured by himself at the foot of the Arfak mountains 

 in July 1873. He says that it agrees in colouring with Australian birds, but 

 is rather smaller. A series, however, would be necessary for comparison, as 

 I am inclined to think that the difference of size in the sexes of this bird is 

 greater than in other Barn-Owls. 



^ The wing seems full-grown; but even if this is not so, the other dimensions are fully 

 approached by the Queensland specimen /. 



