164 
BIKDS OF BRITISH BURMAH. 
Genus SYENIUM, Savigny. 
544. SYRNIUM SINENSE. 
THE MALAYAN WOOD-OWL. 
Strix sinensis, Lath. Ind. Orn. Suppl. p. xvi. Strix seloputo, Horsf. Trans, 
Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 140. Strix pagodarum, Temm. PL Col. 230. Bulaca 
sinensis, Hume, Rough Notes, ii. p. 357. Ciccaba selo-pMto, Salvad. Ucc.Born. 
p. 21. Syrnium sinense, Sharpe, Cat. Birds B. Mus. ii. p. 261. Syrnium 
seloputo, Bl. ^ Wald. B. Biirm. p. 67 ; Hume, S. F. iii. p. 37 ; Hume 8f Dav. 
S. F. vi. p. 28 ; Oates, 8. F. vii. p. 45 ; Hume, 8. F. viii. p. 83 ; Bingham, 8. F. 
ix. p. 146; Oates, 8. F. x. p. 182. 
Description. — Male and female. Forehead^ cliin and facial disk rather 
bright ferruginous without marks ; lower edge of disk whitish ; a large 
patch on the throat pure white ; the space between this patch and the chin 
ferruginous ; ear-coverts black, barred slightly at the lower end with 
ferruginous ; top of head and neck very dark chocolate-brown, each feather 
with two white spots on either web, the spots becoming larger as they 
recede from the front of the head ; sides of the neck darker, the spots 
turning into bars ; the back, scapulars, rump and upper wing-coverts 
■chocolate-brown, paler than on the head ; the back with large white bars ; 
the lesser wing-coverts with a few white spots ; the greater wing-coverts with 
large white spots on both webs ; the rump barred with white ; the scapu- 
lars with large bar-like drops of white, the exterior feathers, which are 
usually concealed, being almost entirely white with ferruginous brown 
bars ; primary-coverts plain rufous-brown ; the general colour of the 
wings much the same as that of the upper plumage, but duller; the 
primaries and secondaries barred with fulvous on both webs, except in 
the first four primaries, where the outer webs are barred with whitish ; 
the tertiaries broadly barred with white, turning to rufous bars at the 
bases of the feathers ; tail much the same tint as the back, the central 
rectrices very sparsely barred with whitish (probably disappearing with 
age), the others barred narrowly on the outer and broadly on the inner 
web with fulvescent white ; all the rectrices tipped with dull white ; the 
whole lower plumage with the under wing-coverts white, with numerous 
bars of dark brown ; the bases of the feathers, which are very much 
decomposed and bright fulvous in colour, show through the plumage in 
patches ; the bars on the thighs narrower and more numerous. 
The young bird has the whole upper plumage white barred with choco- 
late-brown j tips to tail-feathers very white and broad ; the whole lower 
plumage white, closely barred with brown; thighs plain fulvous- white; 
facial disk as in the adult. 
