272 



et albido pulcherriine variegatis : scapularibus extus albis, et tectricibus alarum majoribus extus 

 maculis albis notatis : remigibus ochraceo-fuscis saturate fusco transfasciatis, primariis (extima, excepta) 

 in pogonio externo irregulariter albido et ochraceo-cervino notatis : cauda sordide ochraceo-fusca, 

 rectricibus centralibus fusco transverse vermiculatis, reliquis eodem colore fasciatis : area, oculorum 

 griseo-alba rufescenti lavata et plumis nigro-fuscis rufescentibusque et albidis marginata, : corpore 

 subtiis albido ferrugineo immixto, et maculis longitudinalibus nigro-fuscis notato, plumis versus apicem 

 vix fusco undulatis : rostro flavido, ad basin cseruleo-corneo : iride caeruleo-nigra, marginibus palpe- 

 brarum pallide rubris : unguibus cseruleo-corneis. 



Adult Male (Christiania, 1st May). Crown and space between the facial disks blackish brown, the feathers 

 margined with deep rufous ; nape and upper parts generally pale rufous varied with rufous brown and 

 white, most of the feathers with a dark-brown central stripe, those on the lower back especially and 

 the scapulars and wing-coverts irregularly vermiculated with dark brown ; scapulars with most of the 

 outer web pure white; quills ochraceous brown with a greyish tinge, barred with dark brown, the 

 second and following quills to the sixth broadly but irregularly bordered on the outer web with creamy 

 white and creamy ochreous ; larger wing-coverts with a large white patch on the outer web; tail dull 

 ochreous rufescent, the central feathers vermiculated and the rest broadly barred with dull blackish 

 brown; facial disk greyish white tinged with rufous, the shafts of the feathers blackish; the ruff 

 surrounding the disk blackish brown, the feathers bordered with white and slightly varied with rufous ; 

 underparts white tinged here and there with rufous, broadly streaked with blackish brown, and many 

 of the feathers transversely vermiculated with brown towards the tip ; legs feathered right down to the 

 claws, white slightly marked with dark brown ; bill light horn becoming yellow at the tip ; iris blue- 

 black ; edge of the eyelids pinkish ; claws light horn at the base and darker towards the tip. Total 

 length about 18 inches, culmen T5, wing 10 - 9, tail 7'2, tarsus 20. 



Adult Female. Kesembles the male, but is rather larger in size. 



Nestling (Altenkirchen, 15th May). Covered with greyish- white down, tolerably closely barred with sooty 

 brown ; tail and quills dull light reddish brown, the former transversely vermiculated and the latter 

 barred with dark brown ; tail tipped with white ; bill dull yellowish green, becoming bluish at the base ; 

 iris bluish black ; feet scarcely feathered, sulphur-yellow with a tinge of green. 



Obs. The Tawny Owl is subject to two phases of plumage — the one rufous, which is described above, and 

 the other grey, in which latter the general tone of coloration is greyish instead of rufous. So far as 

 can be ascertained, I quite agree with Mr. Sharpe that these plumages are not dependent either on age 

 or sex ; for I have seen both males and females, young and old birds, in each of these plumages. It 

 seems to me, however, that, as a rule, these rufous-tinged examples are more common in Northern and 

 Central Europe than in Southern Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa; but, on the other hand, one 

 in my collection, from Mount Lebanon, is very dark reddish brown in general tinge of coloration. 

 Mr. Gurney points out to me that Algerian specimens run considerably larger in size than those from 

 Central and Northern Europe; but I do not think that this difference is of any specific value. The 

 Tawny Owl appears to be subject to partial melanism; for the Ritter von Tschusi Schmidhofen states 

 (J. f. Orn. 1871, p. 117) that he received one from Southern Hungary which had the entire upper parts 

 blackish brown, the face black, the underparts, wings, and tail brown, and on the head and breast were 

 a few normally coloured feathers; and referring to the collection at Constantinople, Messrs. Sclater 

 and Taylor write (Ibis, 1876, p. 63) as follows: — "The collection contains a very curious black Owl 

 which we consider to be a melanism of Syi-nium aluco ; and Dr. Long told us that Robson, who shot 



