o T US C A P EOST'SIS. - ( Male.)
(Aves P la te 67: )
A ves.—P late LXVII.—M ale.
0 . supra pallide rubro-biunneus, subochreo parce vermiculatus et notatus; pectore guttureque rubro-
brunneis; ventre flavo-albo; lateribus plumisque femoris subfasciatis; facie subflava brunneo-
variati; fasciS. cervicale rubro-brunneS, ad guttur ochreo-maculata; oculis brunneo-nigris; rostris,
pedibus, unguibusque livido-nigris.
Longitudo a rostri apice ad basin caudee 8 unc. 8^ lin ; caudee 6 line. 3£ lin.
Otus Capensis, Smith.—South African Quarterly Journal, 2nd series, p. 306. 1835.
C olour.— The upper and lateral parts of the head, the upper, lateral and
under parts of the neck, the interscapulars, the back, rump, and upper tail
coverts, the scapular feathers, the lesser wing coverts, and the breast, light
reddish brown (snuff-coloured brown), with sienna-yellow variegations. The
latter are either scanty or wanting upon the back and anterior part of the
breast, but tolerably abundant on the other parts mentioned, and occur in
the form of small oblong spots, zigzag, oblique or transverse lines, and
irregularly shaped blotches ;—the latter are few in number, and restricted to
the small wing-coverts. Belly and legs pale ochrey yellow, the flanks and
the feathers on the outer and anterior aspects of the thighs barred with arrow-
shaped bands of a light brownish yellow colour. False wing-feathers brown,
imperfectly barred with sienna-yellow, and most of them margined externally
with yellowish white. Primary wing coverts brown, secondary coverts brown,
vermiculated and spotted with sienna-yellow. The primary and secondary
quill-feathers brown, with three or four broad irregular bars of a colour
intermediate between buff-orange and gall-stone-yellow, the last bar at
a considerable distance from the points of the feathers, which are obscure
white; tertiary quill-feathers brown, the inner vanes barred with yellowish
white, the tips dull white. Tail barred, brown and buff-orange, or yellowish
white; the light-coloured bars of the inner vanes are generally buff-orange,
those of the outer vanes yellowish white. The two middle tail-feathers
brown, with two rudimentary or indistinct sienna-yellow bars ; their tips are
also of the latter colour. The other tail-feathers are yellowish white for some
distance from the points. Facial disc pale cream-yellow, powdered or
freckled with brown ; the bases of the feathers encircling the eyes deep