THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Ninox rufistrigata assimilis with the comment : “ The New Guinea bird is 
certainly a subspecies of N. rufistrigata (Gray) from Gilolo ; but I am by no 
means convinced that it should be regarded as a subspecies of the much 
larger N. connivens Lath, from Eastern Australia.” 
The Cape York form of Ninox connivens was apparently not considered 
by Ogilvie-Grant, nor was the size of N, rufistrigata ; Salvadori gave for the 
former a wing length of 260-275 mm., and I measured a British Museum skin 
of assimilis as over 270 mm. This shows that N. connivens at Cape York is 
not '‘'‘much larger than assimilis. Further, if assimilis cannot be regarded 
as a subspecies of connivens on account of the size of the latter, it cannot be 
regarded as a subspecies of rufistrigata^ as according to Rothschild and Hartert 
the latter is much larger.^'' The tail coloration is not of specific value in this 
case, so that Ogilvie-Grant’s contention is untenable. There can be little 
doubt that both rufistrigata and assimilis are only subspecies of connivens 
as Rothschild and Hartert placed them, but the birds called assimilis are 
certainly not “very much smaller.” Further, probably more than one sub- 
species is confused under the name assimilis, and this might account for 
the statements made. 
Hieracoglaux connivens assimilis (Salvadori and D’Albertis). 
Southern New Guinea. 
Hieracoglaux connivens rufostrigatus (Gray). 
Gilolo, Morty, Bat j an, etc. (Rothschild and Hartert). 
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