THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Tyto alba alexandrcB Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 256, 1912 ; Alexandra, Northern 
Territory; id.. Austral Av. Rec., Vol. I., p. 56, 1912; Rothschild and Hartert, 
Nov. Zool., Vol. XX., p. 280, 1913. 
Tyto alba Mathews, List Birds Austr., p. 116, 1913, 
Tyto alba alba Mathews, ib. 
Distribution. Australia ; Tasmania, one record. 
Adult male. General colour above pale dusky -brown, everywhere mottled, or freckled, 
with white and pervaded with sandy-rufous ; the feathers on the crown of the 
head have subterminal brown spots, barred, and tipped with white ; the upper 
vdng-coverts, scapulars, back, and upper tail-coverts richer in colour than the 
head and the feathers more coarsely marked, the dark shafts and white tips 
forming almost continuous lines, especially on the scapulars, bastard- wing and 
primary-coverts ; the primary- and secondary-quills are barred with brown and 
the greater portion of the inner webs pure white ; the tail-feathers are barred and 
mottled with brown and sandy-buff, the mottlings becoming almost obsolete on 
the outer feathers which are nearly pure white ; facial disc white, eyehd and 
spot in front of the eye dark rust-brown, the outer margin of the disc sandy -rufous 
with minute dots of dark brown at the tips of the feathers, becoming darker and 
the colour more intense on the chin and lower cheeks where the tips of the feathers 
are edged with blackish, the feathers at the base of the bill are bristly in texture 
and white in colour ; under-surface silky -white with dark arrow-head spots to the 
feathers, which become less pronounced on the thighs and under tail-coverts ; 
outer edge of the wing, including the outer portion of the bastard-wing, under 
wing-coverts and axillaries white with dark markings to the feathers ; quills below 
pure white at the base with brown bars and mottlings on the apical portion ; tail- 
feathers below for the greater part white, with very pale brown bars and mottlings. 
Bill whitish-horn ; eyes slate blue ; feet yellow. Total length 390 mm. ; culmen 21, 
wing 277, tail 115, tarsus 69. Figured. Collected at Allumbar, North Queensland, 
on the 3rd of March, 1910. 
An adult female from the same locality collected on the 19th of December, 1909, 
measures : culmen 22 mm., wing 286. 
Nestling. “ Covered with an admixture of long pure white down, and where the plumage 
is out of the sheaths it is precisely similar everywhere to that of the adult, except 
that the tail-feathers are white at the tips, and there is hardly any wash of buff on 
the exposed portion of them ” (North). 
Nest. A hole in a tree. 
Eggs. Clutch, 3 (usually) to 6, white and roundish ; 42-43 mm. by 32-33. 
Breeding-season. May (N.T.), September to February. 
In the Gen. Hist. Birds, Vol. I., p. 334, 1821, Latham described a “ White- 
faced Owl. Length 20 in. or more. Bill pale ; irides blue ; general colour 
of the plumage above dull yellow, powdered with minute specks, besides 
which are long oval spots of white, on each of which is a black dash, giving 
the appearance of spots of ermine ; face pure white, surrounded with a range 
of alternate yellow and dusky feathers ; aU the under-parts of the body pure 
white, each feather marked with a narrow dusky streak down the shaft ; 
quills barred with dusky ; tail the same ; egs pale red, or flesh colour. 
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