no 
Birds of Celebes: Strigidae. 
“Ngiong”, Minaliassa, Nat. Coll. 
“Wada-Watonga”, N. Celebes, Gorontalo ?, Eosenb. h 8. 
“Karin”, Tjamba, S. Celebes, Platen & 15. 
Descriptions. Schlegel b 1, b 4\ Sharpe c I; Brliggemann b 6\ Eosenberg b S; 
W. Blasius b 13, b 14. 
Adult. Above drab-brown, each feather finely vernucnlatecl with white and having a spot of 
white in the blackish middle-ground of the end of the feather; shoulders and wing- 
coverts tawny buff, coarsely vernnculated towards the ends of the feathers with 
dusky brown and white and tipped with spots of white as on the back; quills and 
tail-feathers above paler than the back, this colour is gathered into five distin- 
guishable dusky bars on the tail and into several imperfect ones on the quills, the inter- 
mediate spaces coarsely speckled and vermiculated with drab -brown, dull tawny and 
whitish; facial disk greyish white, in front of eyes dark brown; facial frill varied 
with feathers of raw umber with dark centres, of pure white and of white tipped 
with dark brown or rufous, the last-named being prevalent under the chin; breast 
buff, the feathers furnished with a small terminal spot, and some with broken ternunal 
margins, of dusky; the remaining under-parts and under wing-coverts ochra- 
ceous buff, each feather marked with one or more small spots of brown (N. Cel. C 104' 7). 
“Iris dark brown; bill whitish; feet greyish yellow” (Platen 5). 
Variation. This Owl varies to a considerable extent. The general tint above of the spe- 
cimen described is the brownest among a number of specimens, and the bars on the 
are the least decided. Other specimens are much greyer above, ranging from a tail 
moderately darker grey to , much blacker grey; four exposed bars on the tail and one 
concealed under the coverts are sharply defined; the white spots are more or less 
numerous. The ruff round the face is usually varied with white feathers, sometimes 
tawny with umber brown tips to the feathers; the under parts are darker or paler 
ochraceous buff, the blackish spots variable in number and size. 
Two specimens from Batavia in Java (Nr. 5909 and 2202) have the under surface 
more barred and the spots on the back more conspicuous. These differences are 
slight, when seen in the actual specimens, and not sufficient in themselves alone to 
justify even the subspecific separation of the Celebesian Owl from the Javan one 
[Strix javanica Gm.), but we do not unite them as it remains to be seen what a 
greater quantity of material will prove. 
Measurements. 
Wing 
Tail 
Tarsus 
Bill 
from 
cere 
Mid. toe 
without 
claw 
a. (C 10417) — North Celebes 
360 
150 
82 
28 
50 
b. (8266) — North Celebes 
340 
150 
77 
28 
43 
c. (8267) — Great Sangi 
336 
155 
75 
26 
41 
d. (C 10852) — North Celebes 
340 
150 
78 
27 
— 
e. (C 13355) — - North Celebes, May 91 (C.) . . . 
355 
140 
— 
28 
— 
f. (C 13864) — North Celebes, Dec. 94 (C.) . . . 
345 
145 
— 
26 
— 
g. (Sarasin Coll.) Kema, N. Cel., 1. XI. 93 
335 
153 
— 
28 
— 
h. (Sarasin Coll.) $, Tomohon, N. Cel., 28. III. 94 
348 
156 
— • 
29 
— 
i. (Sarasin Coll.) (J^, Kema, Nov. 93 
340 
150 
— 
28 
— 
j. (Sarasin Coll.) (^f, Tomohon, 31. m. 94 . . . 
355 
150 
— 
29 
— 
k. (Sarasin Coll.) Q, Maros, S. Cel., 22. I. 96 . 
335 
150 
■ — 
— 
— 
For comparison: S. javanica Gm. 
(5909) — Batavia (v. Schierbrand) 
360 
160 
81 
26.5 
49 
(2202) — Batavia 
343 
150 
73 
26.5 
— 
