THE WHITE -BREASTED BARN-OWL. 95 



No ear -like feather -tufts. Eyes comparatively small. Wings long, 

 1st, 2nd and 3rd primaries very nearly equal and longest, very wide 

 and soft, without any emarginations on inner webs. Tarsus long, 

 with short feathers, toes with bristles only, not feathered. Claw 

 of middle toe with inner edge produced and even more or less 

 pectinated. Tail slightly emarginated. One species in numerous 

 subspecies nearly all parts of World, in addition another each in 

 India and Africa, several more in Australia. 



TYTO ALBA* 



240. Tyto alba alba (Scop.)— THE WHITE-BREASTED 

 BARN-OWL. 



Steix alba Scopoli, Annus 1, Historico-Natur., p. 21 (1769 — Friuli, 

 in N. Italy). 



Aluco flammeus (Linnaeus) (nee Pontoppidan), Yarrell, 1, p. 194 (part). 

 Strix flammed Linnaeus (nee Pontoppidan), Saunders, p. 291 (part). 



Description (Plates 1 and 2). — Adult male. Winter. — Whole 

 upper -parts golden-buff, each feather with a central distal streak of 

 alternate grey and dark brown and tips of feathers mottled grey with 

 fine brown vermiculations, amount of mottling varying individually 

 but less marked on crown and nape than on scapulars and mantle ; 

 facial disk, which is complete, white with a patch of reddish -rust 

 colour in front of eye and sometimes extending immediately round 

 eye ; " ruff " (slightly curled feathers surrounding disk) well marked, 

 inner feathers white, outer feathers on upper -part of " ruff " golden- 

 buff and on lower part tipped buff and brown but occasionally 

 entirely white ; rest of under -parts silvery -white, often with a 

 buff tinge on sides of breast and upper-breast entirely unspotted 

 or with a varying number of fine dark brown spots on sides of breast 

 and flanks ; tibia and about half tarsus thickly covered with white 

 feathers, lower half of tarsus more thinly covered with feathers 

 having small tuft-like base and long bristle-like shafts, toes sparsely 

 covered with white bristles ; axillaries and under wing -coverts 

 entirely white or with a few small brown spots and feathers covering 

 outer primaries usually with faint greyish or greyish -brown tips ; 

 tail varying pale golden-buff to buffish -white, inner webs of all 

 except central pair being whiter, with three to four (occasionally 

 five) wavy bars of brown sometimes well marked and mottled 

 with grey but often much broken, sometimes restricted to a few 



* It has already been explained (p. 84) that the name Strix flammea 

 belongs to the Short-eared Owl, and cannot be used for the Barn-Owl. 

 The first name of the latter is Strix alba Scopoli 1769. — The type of the 

 generic Strix is, by tautonomy, Strix strix, the Brown Owl, and the first generic 

 term for the Barn-Owl is Tyto, Billberg, 1828. This cannot be rejected on 

 account of a previous Tyta, the names being easily distinguished. — E.H. 



