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76quint. :- Stray Feathers, Vol. I, p. 468.

Length, 8.8 ; wing, 5.8; tail, 2.75 ; tarsus, 1 ; bill from gape, 0.65.

Length, 9.5; expanse, 22.5 ; wing, 5.8 ; tarsus, 0.91 ; tail 2.9.

The lores, a line over the eye, a broad line under the eye, and a triangular patch immediately behind the eye, white ; the bristles of the lores, with the terminal halves, black ; the longest bristles reach just to the tip of the bill. From the gape, runs a stripe backwards, enveloping the whole of the ear-coverts, in color a rather dark earth-brown, obsoletely barred with albescent; chin and throat, and the sides of the lower mandible, below the stripe above mentioned, pure white ; across this from the base of the lower mandible, on one side to the base on the other runs a conspicuous, transverse, dark-brown band. Forehead, top, and back of the head, back, and sides of the neck, scapulars, and interscapulary region an uniform rather dark earth brown ; on lifting the feathers of the back of the neck and on lifting the scapulars, each feather is found to have a white bar about midway between base and tip, or in some cases nearer the tip, but these are not visible when the feathers are in repose. The wings are hair-brown, darkest on the primaries, secondaries and their greater coverts, and more nearly concolorous with the scapulars, on the lesser and median coverts, and tertiaries. All the quills have four or five conspicuous white spots on the outer webs, and corresponding imperfect bars (not quite reaching to the shafts) on the inner webs, which bars are pale brown towards the tips, and higher up pure white. The winglet, which is almost blackish brown, is similarly marked. The primary greater coverts similar, the rest of the greater, and some of the median-coverts, with very large conspicuous white spots near the tips on the outer webs. The lesser-coverts and most of the median unspotted ; rump and upper tail-coverts, uniform brown, rather darker than the interscapulary region, some of them exhibiting, when lifted, a concealed white bar as in the scapulars. Tail hair brown, tipped white, and with three conspicuous transverse white bars, a fourth, a less perfect one, concealed by the upper tail-coverts. The breast feathers are mostly white, but are broadly tipped with hair-brown, which, owing to the overlapping of the feathers, is what is chiefly seen. The sides of the breast of this same color, but with traces of white bands well inside the tips, and not noticeable till the feathers are lifted.

Centre of abdomen, tibial, and tarsal plumes, toe-feathers, and lower tail-coverts pure white ; sides of abdomen, sides and flanks, broadly banded with hair-brown.

The Forest Owlet.

Heteroglaux blewitti, Hume, S. F. i, p. 468 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. ii, p. 141; Ball, S. F- v, p. 412 ; Hume, Cat. no. 76 quint.; Davidson, S. F. x, p. 292; Sharpe, Yark. Miss., Aves, p. 151, pl. xxii. Carine (Heteroglaux) blewitti, Ball, S. F. vii, p. 201.

Coloration very like that of A. brama, but the brown spot in front of the eye is faint or wanting; there are no white spots, or only traces of them, on the crown and nape, the nuchal semi-collar is less distinct; the back and lesser and median wing-coverts are uniform brown, the white spots being confined to the greater coverts; there are four broad distinct white bars across the tail-feathers, one being terminal; the brown band across the throat is dark, unbroken, and much broader, and there is a second and still broader band on the breast, partly broken by white edges; farther back on the breast and flanks the brown bars are wider apart, and the middle of the abdomen, legs, and under tail-coverts are pure white. Colours of soft parts not recorded.

Length about 9; tail 2.9; wing 5.7-6; tarsus 1; bill from gape .85.

A heavier bird than A. brama, weighing 8.5 oz., or fully one-third more. The 3rd and 4th quills are longest, the 3rd generally slightly exceeding the 4th, 1st quill about as long as 8th. Tarsus feathered; upper surface of toes with soft feathers, the barbs of which wear away, leaving the shafts only in some specimens.

Distribution. Of this rare Owl the type was obtained by Mr. Blewitt near Sambalpur, and a second specimen by Mr. Ball on the Udet river in Karial, 150 miles farther south. Some years later three specimens were collected by Mr. Davidson at the foot of the Satpuras in North-western Khandesh, where this species was not rare. All were found in thick forest.

The Forest Spotted Owlet.

Heteroglaux blewitti Hume, Str. Feath., i, p. 468 (1873) (Phuljan State, West India). Athene blewitti Blanf. & Oates, iii, p. 303.

Vernacular names. None recorded.

Description. Very similar to Athene b. brama but with fewer white spots on the upper parts; the crown, back and scapulars are generally unspotted, though the forehead and, sometimes, the crown show faintly a few small spots; the collar of white spots on hind-neck is not nearly so well defined; the lesser wing-coverts and often the median are unspotted ; below, the breast-band across the throat is wider and more conspicuous and the whole under surface shows more brown and less white, the breast being brown with merely white fringes to the feathers.

Colours of soft parts. Iris bright yellow; bill not recorded but apparently as in A. b. brama.

Measurements. Wing 146 to 149 mm.; tail 63 to 69 mm.; tarsus 26 mm.; culmen 20 to 21 mm.

Third or fourth quill longest or subequal; first quill about equal to eighth or a little shorter.

Distribution. Phuljan, near Sambalpur ; Udet River in Karial, about 150 miles South of Phuljan and Khandesh.

Nidification. Unknown.

Habits. Nothing recorded beyond the fact that this Owl is essentially a bird of deep forest.

Heteroglaux blewitti Hume, Str. Feath., vol. i, p. 468: Phulgan State, West India.