Order STRIGIFORMES. 
No. 16. 
Family STB1GIDA. 
SPILOGLAUX NOV.ESEELANDLE. 
(royana.) 
NORFOLK ISLAND OWL. 
(Plate 14.) 
Ninox boobook royana Mathews, Austral. Av. Rec., Vol. I., p. 120, Dec. 24th, 1912: Norfolk 
Island. 
Ninox boobook royana Mathews, Austral. Av. Rec., Vol. I.. p. 120, Dec. 24th, 1912; id., List Birds 
Austral., p. 320, Dec. 1913. 
Spiloglaux novceseelandice royana Mathews, Birds Austr., Vol. V., pt. iii., p. 333, May 23rd, 1916' 
id., Syst. Av. Australas., p. 272, 1927. 
Distribution. Norfolk Island. 
Adult female. Feathers of the fore-head white at the base, tipped with chocolate-brown and 
with narrow' black shafts ; head, neck and ear-coverts uniform dark brown with a powdered 
appearance ; mantle and lower back dull chocolate-brown ; scapulars and rump of the same 
colour as the back, barred with dull white; primaries, secondaries and tail dull earth- 
brown, obscurely barred with brownish-buff ; feathers at the base of the bill black, long 
and bristle-like ; lores and chin white ; breast, chest, belly, sides and flanks rich chocolate- 
brown, spotted and barred with white; belly and flanks more strongly barred, some 
of the feathers having twin spots of white; under tail-coverts rich buffish-white, 
with a large spot of chocolate-brown towards the extremity; under wing-coverts rich 
brownish-buff, indistinctly barred with brown. Eyes bright brass-yellow, bill dark blue- 
grey, feet bright yellow. Total length 310 mm.: wing 200, tail 127, tarsus 33, culmen 
22. Figured. Collected near the Cable Station, Norfolk Island, on the 17th of March, 
1913. 
Adult male. Similar to the adult female. Total length 300 mm.: wing 201, tail 123, tarsus 
32, culmen 20. Collected at Red Road, Nit. Pitt, Norfolk Island, on the 25th of September, 
1912, and is the type of Ninox boobook royana. 
Nest. A hole in a tree. 
Eggs. Clutch probably similar to its allies. 
22 
