Part 102

"A female from Bongao. 'Iris light yellow; bill greenish plumbeous; feet greenish yellow.' The specimen now sent appears to be not quite adult, but it shows the distinctness of the species from Ninox philippensis in the barred upper surface. The upper breast is barred with white and dark brown, and the flanks are white, with longitudinal pear-shaped mesial streaks of pale rufous-brown. The tail has likewise ten dark bands, much narrower than in N. philippensis, which has six broad bands of dark brown." (Sharpe.)

229. NINOX MINDORENSIS Grant.

MINDORO HAWK OWL.

Ninox mindorensis Grant, Ibis (1896), 463; Sharpe, Hand-List (1899), 1, 291; McGregor, Bull. Philippine Mus. (1904), 4, 17; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 47.

Mindoro (Whitehead, McGregor, Porter).

Adult.--In color and color pattern very similar to Ninox spilonota but very much smaller; it also resembles N. spilocephala in size and pattern of upper parts but differs from the latter in having the breast and abdomen cross-barred instead of boldly striped. Both rufous and light phases occur in this species.

Male.--Iris yellow; bill, cere, and legs greenish; nails dark brown. Length, 225; wing, 167; tail, 88; culmen from base, 20; tarsus, 30.

Female.--Length, 220; wing, 158; tail, 78; culmen from base, 20; tarsus, 23.

"An adult female of this little Mindoro hawk owl was obtained in the lowlands, and is nearly allied to N. spilocephala Tweeddale, from Mindanao and Basilan, resembling that species in having the top of the head and nape barred with buff. It may, however, be at once recognized by having the whole of the under parts, including the belly and flanks, tawny-buff, transversely barred with brown, while in the female of N. spilocephala, though the breast is generally like that of the present species, the belly and flanks are always white, with longitudinal reddish brown shaft-stripes. Length, 203; wing, 152; tail, 76; tarsus, 28.

"I have of course carefully compared this species with Bourns and Worcester's description of N. spilonotus, specimens of which were obtained in Mindoro, but the much smaller size of this bird serves to at once distinguish it." (Grant.)

230. NINOX PLATENI Blasius.

PLATEN'S HAWK OWL.

Ninox plateni Blasius (in litt.), Hartlaub, Abh. Nat. Ver. Bremen (1899), 16, 271; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 47.

Mindoro (Platen).

Adult female.--Above reddish brown, slightly shaded with olive; top and sides of head, hind neck, sides of neck, and mantle lighter, pale reddish, and narrowly banded; on lower back and rump the bands inconspicuous so that these parts appear nearly uniform; chin light; throat-feathers light fawn-color with dark shaft-stripes, ground color of chest and belly bright red-brown, with narrow blackish stripes; bend of wing white; scapulars and greater wing-coverts with some larger opaque white spots on outer webs; primaries with inner webs uniform black, outer webs with broad dark brown and smaller pale reddish band spots; on the tertials appear very inconspicuous, broad, darker bands, and on the whole length of the edges of the outer webs, pale fawn spots; tail-feathers with darker brownish bands of equal width; under tail-coverts light fawn; inner wing-coverts light reddish brown with darker spots. Legs light yellowish; iris yellow. Length, 250; wing, 169; tail, 80.

Male.--Differs only in the following that the bands on the lower belly and thighs are on a lighter background; and the reddish brown ground-color of chest and epigastrium is somewhat lighter. Wing, 168; tail, 80.

Another female.--The brownish red of abdomen very fiery with irregular and less distinct bands. Wing, 168 mm.; tail, 78.

I doubt very much if this species is really distinct from Ninox mindorensis; the size is nearly the same and specimens of the two do not seem to have been actually compared.

Subfamily STRIGINÆ.

Genus STRIX Linnæus, 1758.

Large; without ear-tufts; secondaries nearly as long as primaries; plumage compact; barred below, spotted above; legs and toes closely feathered.

231. STRIX WHITEHEADI (Sharpe).

PALAWAN BARRED OWL.

Syrnium whiteheadi Sharpe, Ibis (1888), 196, pl. 3; Hand-List (1899), 1, 294; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 47.

Palawan (Whitehead, Platen, Bourns & Worcester, Celestino).

"Adult male.--General color above chocolate-brown, spotted with white, the spots arranged in pairs, the one on the inner web often fulvescent; scapulars forming a light patch of tawny-buff, covered with narrow bars of chocolate-brown; lesser wing-coverts dark chocolate-brown, with scarcely any white spots; median and greater coverts more reddish chocolate-brown, transversely barred with white, slightly tinged with tawny-buff; alula and primary-coverts uniform blackish brown; quills brown, crossed with lighter and more rufous-brown bars, whiter near the edge, especially of the secondaries, which are slightly freckled externally; the innermost secondaries spotted with white, like the back; upper tail-coverts like the back, but barred with tawny-buff or whitish; tail-feathers dark chocolate-brown, barred with tawny-buff or creamy white, with which the tail is conspicuously tipped, the light bars, seven in number, on the center feathers, broader and coalescing on the remainder; crown of head like the back, thickly spotted with white, the spots arranged in pairs; feathers of the hind neck with concealed bases of tawny-buff; the mantle somewhat more uniform brown; sides of face chestnut, deeper about the eyes and on the ear-coverts, which are whiter posteriorly; ruff dark chocolate-brown, barred across with rufous; chin rufous, followed by a broad white patch, narrowly barred with black; remainder of under surface of body tawny-rufous, narrowly barred across with blackish brown including the thighs and under tail-coverts; fore neck with broad bands of white and chocolate-brown; under wing-coverts and axillars like the breast; quills below dusky brown, barred with yellowish buff, these bars broader toward the base of the inner web. Length, 444; wing, 330; tail, 190; culmen, 34; tarsus, 58.

"Of this fine owl Mr. Whitehead obtained several specimens. Its nearest ally is Syrnium sinense, but it is easily distinguished from that species by its rufescent under surface, with the absence of white bars." (Sharpe.)

Female.--In colors similar to the male, but size slightly greater. "Iris brown; eyelids dark carmine; bill and nails black." (Celestino.) Length, 460; wing, 340; tail, 200; culmen from base, 39; tarsus, 50.