STEIGIDjE STRIX 237 



491. Strix flammea. Barn Oivl. 



Strix flammea, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 133 (1766) ; Sharpe, ed. Layard's 

 B. 8. Afr. pp. 82, 802 (1875-84) ; id. Cat. B. M. ii, p. 291 (1875) ; 

 Dates, Mataheleland, p. 300 (1881) ; Holub §• Pelzeln, Orn. Sild-Afr. 

 p. 47 (1882) ; Butler, Feilden, and Beid, Zool. 1882, p. 205 [Camper- 

 down] ; Shelley, Ibis, 1882, p. 204 [Shongo river] ; Fleck, Journ. 

 Ornith. 1894, • p. 395 [Eeheboth] ; Bendall, Ibis, 1896, p. 167 [near 

 Barberton] ; Shelley, B. Afr. i, p. 141 (1896) ; Sowerby, Ibis, 1898, 

 p. 576 [Chiquaqua]; Woodward Bros. Natal B. p. 159 (1899); 

 Marshall, Ibis, 1900, p. 261 [near Salisbury] . 



Strix affinis, Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 43 (1867) ; Ayres, Ibis, 1878, p. 284 

 [Potchefstroom] . 



Strix poensis, Ourney, Ibis, 1868, p. 105 ; id. in Andersson's B. 

 Bamaraland, p. 36 (1871) ; Buckley, Ibis, 1874, p. 362 [Palapye.] 



"Dood-vogel" of Dutch. 



Description. Adult. — General colour above, pearly-grey, all the 

 feathers yellowish-buff at their basal halves and vermiculated grey 

 and horn at their apical halves, a more conspicuous white terminal 

 and brown subterminal spot present at the tip of each shaft ; wing- 

 quills banded buff and brown, the inner half of the inner webs 

 white ; tail buff, with three brown transverse bands and a paler 

 brown tip slightly vermiculated, the outer edge of the outer feather 

 white ; facial disc of decomposed feathers radiating outwards from 

 the eye in every direction white, except for a brown spot in front of 

 the eye ; ruff surrounding the disc buff above, white below, with 

 a row of black-tipped feathers outside the pure white ones ; below, 

 white, the breast washed with bpff and the whole spotted with 

 small angular spots of brown ; feathery covering of the lower half 

 of the tarsus gradually diminishing ; toes with a few scattered 

 bristles. 



Iris very dark brown ; bill yellow ; feet and toes yellow. 



Length 16-25; wing 11-70 ; tail 4-80 ; tarsus 2-40; culmen 10-0. 



The nestling is covered with white down, the feathers which 

 appear first being usually orange coloured. 



European birds are usually darker below and the spots are not 

 so numerous or large. 



Distribution. — The Barn Owl is one of the most completely 

 cosmopolitan of birds, being found all over the world except in New 

 Zealand and some of the Pacific Isles. As is natural, there is some 

 variation in so wide-ranging a bird, but hardly sufficient to warrant 

 the formation even of sub-species, though this has been done to a 

 considerable extent of recent years. 



