THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
disturbed my neighbour so much that I had difficulty in persuading him not 
to shoot the birds, hoping to get their eggs, but as the breeding time came 
round, about September, they disappeared to more secluded spots. They are 
back again now (May). The bird does not hoot, as has been stated, but makes 
a noise like (that of) an opossum, without the break that is in the latter.” 
Mr. K. H. Bennett of Mossgiel, N.S.W., in 1886 wrote : “ Strix delicatula 
was very numerous here at the time of the rat invasion, in the early days of 
settlement, and disappeared after the rats left the district. During that time 
I found it breeding on two occasions ; the eggs, six in number, rather rounded 
in form and dull white, were in each instance simply deposited on the soft 
decayed wood in the hollow trunks of trees, in a similar manner to those of 
Parrakeets. I have occasionally seen individuals since, but they did not 
remain to breed, and like all the Owl family can only be regarded as occasional 
visitors.” 
Mr. G. A. Keartland wrote from Melbourne : “ The Delicate Owl may be 
found in almost every part of Australia, but these birds are most numerous 
near rivers and creeks, where they breed in the hollow limbs of the large trees. 
At Werribee, Victoria, I found a pair nesting in a hollow Casuarina, no doubt 
owing to the absence of large timber. Mr. Jas. F. Field secured a clutch of 
their eggs near Alice Springs, whilst Mr. Alex. Ross forwarded me others from 
Crown Point, Central Australia. On the Daly River, in the Northern Terri- 
tory of South Australia, and near the Fitzroy River, North-western Australia, 
they are very numerous, probably owing to the presence of large numbers 
of small marsupials, besides rats and mice. Whenever mice make their 
appearance in exceptionally large numbers in Victoria, the Delicate Owl 
seems to follow them, but when the mice disappear, many of the Owls may 
be seen lying about dead and in very lean condition, some little better than 
skeletons.” 
Though North has recorded variation, the series here available is not 
sufficient to define the geographical races existent in Australia. I separated 
the Northern form, but as Rothschild and Hartert have explained, I made 
a mistake in the measurements. I admit this, and have therefore accepted 
their rectification, but this does not mean that definable races do not exist 
in Australia, but simply that with the material at my disposal I cannot define 
them. In this Owl, according to Rothschild and Hartert’s standard, the 
slightest difference is quite sufficient to establish a subspecies on, if the 
locality differs, but to them “ Australia ” is one locality and is strictly 
comparable with the islands of Madeira, Cape Verde, East Canaries, 
Celebes, Tenimber and Timorlaut, or Sumba, each of which provides its own 
subspecies. 
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