108 
Birds of Celebes: Asionidae. 
genera — not in the almost perfect identity of two species, which points to 
another cause. 8. rutilus is possibly a recent immigrant to Madagascar — one 
that was carried out to sea by a storm at night from anywhere within its range 
and, somewhat aided by the strong and continons S. E. tradewind, flying, as 
all birds do, at an angle with the wind (though it must of course travel much 
quicker) had the good fortune to reach as the nearest land Madagascar. (See 
for the winds in the Indian Ocean, which very well explain such a case, the 
Atlas of the Indian Ocean, published by the “Deutsche Seewarte” 1891 pi. 21. ) 
According to Gatke (“Vogelwpte Helgoland” 1891, 72) a bird may even fly 
a geographical mile in a minute (! ?), the distance from Celebes or the small Sunda 
Islands to Madagascar, therefore, Avould require between 17 and 18 hours (70 de- 
grees of 15 geographical miles each). As a bird will scarcely be able to re- 
main on the wing for such a time without rest, it could only in exceedingly 
rare cases reach Madagascar from its eastern quarters, through there are various 
intermediate islands of small size. There are no other cases known of such a 
similarity between birds of the East Indian Archipelago and Madagascar. Owls, 
for reasons already given, appear to be especially liable to distribution in this way. 
Nothing is known of the habits of >8. manadensis. The Madagascar race 
preys on mice, small birds, lizards and large insects; a similar diet, with the 
addition of bats, is described by Colonel Legge for 8. minutus of Ceylon 
(B. Ceylon, 144). 
Scops mantis (T. & Schl.). 
This species is noted by v. Rosenberg as occurring in Celebes (Malay. 
Archip. 1878, 271), but, as Prof. W. Blasius remarks, it is obviously taken 
from Gray’s Hand -List (I, p. 46, Nr. 477) without any special new proof of 
its j)resence there (cf. W. Blasius, J. f. O. 1883, 125). Rosenberg has often 
rendered his statements untrustworthy by a similar proceeding, as is now 
generally known. 
1) As an excellent parallel to the occurrence of Scops manadensis in Madagascar may be cited Prof. 
Konig’s discovery of Glaucidium siju Cab. of Cuba in the Canary Islands (J. f 0. 1890, 336 — 340), a single 
specimen of which was killed on Adeje, August 22"'^, 1889 by Don Ramon Gromez, who informed Prof 
Konig that he met with it after strong winds in the S.W. part of the island at a height of 1074 feet. 
Prof Kb nig remarks: “Altogether it looks as if African continental forms are entirely absent in the Canaries, 
while more and more of such from the New "World are always being discovered. And does it not seem mani- 
fest that this most striking immigration of American types is to be traced to the air-currents which pass from 
America across the sea? . . . The prevailing winds . . . which are rarely or hardly ever directed from the 
African Continent towards the island-group, blow on the other hand (probably indeed with some constancy) 
from the New World across the great stretches of the Atlantic Ocean and continue as far as the Old.” 
