upper part of the breast with an indistinct brown and white
transverse band, below greyish-white with longitudinal spots
of clove-brown ; under tail-coverts white; tail beneath dull
greyish-brown, barred with yellow-brown : hair-like feathers
covering the legs, and bristles of the toes, white; the claws
black.
The whole length of this bird is about eight inches and a
half. The females are rather larger than the males, and the
general colour of their plumage is paler.
According to Bechstein, in the young birds before the first
moult, “ the head is of a soft reddish-grey, clouded with
white. The large round spots on the back become gradually
more marked; and the reddish-white of the under part by
degrees acquires long streaks of brown on the breast and
sides.”
S u r n ia f u n e r e a (Linnaeus*).
THE HAWK-OWL.
Surnia funerea.
Su r m a , D u m ir i lf.—Beak decurved frpm the base and much hidden by
feathers; nostrils small and rounded; cere short; upper mandible slightly
undulated; lower mandible notched. Facial disk nearly obsolete. Orifice of
the ears small, without operculum. Wings short, first quill-feather equal to
seventh, second longer than fifth, third and fourth longest and nearly equal.
Tarsi rather short and, with the toes, thickly feathered. Tail long and graduated.
Head fiat and without tufts.
A n O w l of this species, subsequently presented by Dr.
Burkitt to the Museum of Trinity College, Dublin, was taken,
* Strix funerea, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, 1. p. 133 (1766).
+ Zoologie Analytique, p. 54 (1806).