STRIGIDJS. 87
DESCRIPTION
; Of a specimen killed in May, 1827, at Carlton House.
C olour of the bill and claws bluish-black. Irides yellow. The face is white, bounded
posteriorly by blackish-brown, succeeded by white, which two latter colours are continued in
a mixed band across the throat. Egrets coloured at the base like the adjoining plumage, the
longer feathers tipped with blackish-brown, their inner webs white, varied with wood-brown.
The whole dorsal aspect is marked with undulated lines or fine bars of dark umber-brown,
alternating with white; the markings bearing some resemblance to those of the Virginian Owl,
but being much more lively and handsome. On the greater wing coverts, on the inner half of
the scapularies, and also partially on the neck and lesser wing coverts, the white is tinged or
replaced by pale wood-brown. The primaries and secondaries are wood-brown, with a considerable
portion of white along the margins of their inner webs. They are crossed by from
five to six distant umber-brown bars on both webs, the intervening spaces being finely speckled
with the same. Near the tips of the primaries the fine sprinkling of the dark colour nearly obscures
the wood-brown. On the tertiaries the wood-brown is mostly replaced by white. The
tail feathers are white, deeply tinged on their inner webs by wood-brown, and crossed by six
bars of umber-brown about half as broad as the intervening spaces : their tips are white.
Under surface.— Chin white. Throat crossed by the band above mentioned, behind which
there is a large space of pure snow-white, that is bounded on the breast by blotches of liver-
brown situated on the tips of the feathers. The belly and long plumage of the flanks are
white, crossed by narrow, regular bars of dark-brown. The vent feathers, under tail coverts,
thighs, and feet, are pure white. The linings of the wings are also white, with the exception
of a brown spot on the tips of the greater interior coverts;
F orm, &c.— Bill strong, curved from the base, moderately compressed towards the tip,
with a very obtuse ridge. Nostrils large, roundish, covered by the wiry feathers proceeding
from the base of the bill. Facial dish small, incomplete above the orbit. Auditory concha.
oval, without an operculum. Opening of the auditory canal small. Egrets more than two
inches long, each composed of six or seven feathers, and situated behind the upper end of the
black band bounding the face. . The folded wings fall about three inches and a half short of
the end of the tail. The webs of the quill feathers are very broad, and the wing is very concave
beneath. The second and third quill feathers are the longest; the fourth is about two
lines shorter; the first and fifth are an inch shorter; the others to the tenth diminish each in
succession about half an inch. The inner webs of the three first, and the outer ones of the
second and third, are sinuated. The points of the whole of the outer barbs of the first, and of
the barbs near the points of the second and third, are strongly recurved. The tertiaries are
very long, their tips passing that of the sixth primary. The tail is rounded, the outer feathers
being an inch shorter than the central ones. The plumage of the sides of the belly is long,
and hangs down over the thighs. The thigh feathers are very downy, but are not long. The
vent feathers and under tail coverts are also very downy. The tarsi are rather long, and the
toes are moderately long ; they are clothed to the roots of the nails by a close coat of hairy
feathers. Two transverse Scales are partially visible at the root of each claw. The claws are