BOOBOOK OWL. 
In 1889, De Vis described, a new species of Owl from the BeUenden Ker 
Range in the Rep. Sci. Exped. BeUenden Ker, p. 31 (and in another copy, 
p. 84), 1889, as follows: 
“ Adult male. Upper-surface of head and neck uniform dark brown, 
hind neck and back coffee-brown, with a few concealed white spots on the 
lateral and anterior feathers of the mantle. Lower back and upper tail- 
coverts uniform paler brown. Tail with two central feathers uniform, the 
laterals with four or five distinct or nearly obsolete pale bars on the inner 
web. Scapulars brown, with one or two large white median spots or bars 
on one or both webs. Quills externally washed with greyish-brown, the outer 
webs with broad obscure subrufous cross-bars ; the inner webs with a few 
obscure transverse bars, the inner ends of those near the base forming a white 
spot. Wing-coverts uniform brown, a little brighter than on the head. Lores 
and cheeks anteriorly white, the plumes with black shafts ; hinder part of 
cheeks and ear-coverts brown, like the head ; a supraciliary stripe over the 
fore part of the orbit, white more or less stained with buff. Chin whitish, 
its median hinder feathers with brown shaft -streaks, the laterals buff with 
brown centres, these forming a line behind the ear-coverts. Throat rufous- 
brown, obscurely spotted or streaked with buffy-white. Breast and abdomen 
deep rufous-brown, largely spotted with white. Under tail-coverts with a 
median spot on both webs, and the tips brown or buffy-brown, with one or 
two white median spots. Under-surface of tail pale brown, with four or five 
more or less obsolete transverse bars. Axillaries rufous or ochreous. Under 
wing-coverts rufous, edge of wing buffy-white or white. Under-surface of 
wing silky brown, with the transverse bars of the quills in strong contrast. 
Legs rufous. Bill white, blackish below the nostrils. Mandible blue-black, 
yellow at the base. Total length 290 mm. ; wing 225, tail 137, tarsus 38. 
“ Adult female. Like the male, but with the throat and upper-breast rich 
chocolate-brown with fulvous stripes. The tail uniform brown above and 
below, the quiUs narrowly edged with buffy-grey, and the bill black except 
the basal half of the culmen.” 
When I drew up my “Reference List” of the Birds of Australia {Nov. Zool., 
Vol. XVIII., January 1912, p. 254) I recognised seven subspecies, thus : 
Ninox hoohook boobook Latham, New South Wales, Queensland ; N. b. 
marmorata Gould, South Australia, Victoria ; N. b. halmaturina nov.. 
Kangaroo Island (differs from N. b. marmorata in its darker reddish-brown 
coloration above, and the darker burnt sienna markings on the under-surface 
resemble in character those of N. b. boobook rather than those of N. b. 
marmorata) ; N. b. maculata Vigors and Horsfield {=clelandi), Tasmania ; N. b. 
ocellata Bonaparte, South-west Australia (I have compared the type with a 
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