POWEEFUL OWL. 
with white, which have a smoky tinge ; the feathers round the eye and those 
surrounding the base of the bill disintegrated and bristly in texture, white webs at the 
base and black hair-like shafts ; throat and under-surface white, or buffy-white 
barred with brown, the brown Isars being sometimes edged with buff, the white 
portion of the feathers is very wide on the sides of the body and narrow on the 
thighs ; the toes are covered with hair-like feathers. Bill black ; base of culmen 
and sides of lower mandible horn ; eyes yellow ; feet grey. Total length 650 mm. ; 
culmen 31, wing 405, tail 260, tarsus 54. Figured. Collected in Victoria and is 
the type of Berneyornis strenuus viclorim (Mathews). 
NestliTig. “ Head, neck and under-surface of body pure white, all the feathers fluffy, 
apparently the remains of nestling-plumage ; on the crown some brown feathers 
barred across with white ; the fore-head streaked with brown, the lores obscured 
by blackish bristles, as also the eyebrows and cheeks ; ear-coverts dark brown, 
streaked with white ; the under-surface with a few narrow shaft-streaks of dark 
brown, broader on the flanks and sides of the body, the plumes on the sides of the 
upper-breast barred with brown ; the back and aU the rest of the upper-surface 
ashy-brown, transversely barred with white, some of the bars washed with rufous ; 
quills dark brown tipped with white and crossed besides by fine narrower whitish 
bars ” (Sharpe, Cat. Birds B.M., Vol. II., p. 179, 1875). This is a good description 
of the specimen in the British Museum, which I have examined and which is a three- 
quarters grown bird not out of the nest. 
Nest. “ In a spout of a tree growing in dense scrub ” (H. L. White). 
Eggs. “ The eggs are of typical Ninox shape, being almost round ; the shell is pure white, 
close grained and glossy, with a few limy excrescences scattered over the surface ; 
one specimen has a number of shallow longitudinal grooves or creases running 
the whole length of the shell. Measurements in inches : {a) 2.29 x 1-94, 
(6) 2.23 X 1.9, (c) 2.15 x 1.91 ” (H. L. White). 
Breeding-season. “ November ” (H. L. Wfliite). 
The life-history of this magnificent Owl appears to be almost unknown. I 
have no notes from any of my correspondents and I only have one quotation 
from the pages of the Emu. Moreover, this bird is not included in the 
Austr. Mus. Spec. Cat, No. 1, at all, and I quote the comment of Mr. H. L. 
White on this matter {Emu, Vol. XV., p. 60, 1915) : 
“ This bird is one of Mr. North’s most extraordinary omissions. The 
bird is distinct, weU known, and the eggs were described in the Emu (Vol. XII., 
p. 21). In several instances Mr. North has described subspecies without 
mentioning their eggs ; here we have a most distinct species, whose eggs 
are known, entirely overlooked.” 
Gould’s account is therefore here transcribed, and it is worthy of 
reproduction, as Gould was the describer of this splendid bird. He wrote : 
“ With the exception of the Eagles, Aquila audax and Polioaetus leucogaster, 
this is the most powerful Eaptorial bird yet discovered in Australia. Its 
strength is prodigious, and woe to him who ventures to approach it when 
wounded. So far as I have been able to ascertain, it is an inhabitant of the 
brushes, particularly those of Victoria and New South Wales, which extend 
along the coast from Port Philip to Moreton Bay. I did, however, obtain 
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