Part 94

AUSTRALIAN OSPREY.

Pandion leucocephalus Gould, Syn. Birds Austr. (1838), pt. 3, pl. 6; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1874), 1, 451; Hand-List (1899), 1, 279; North, Catal. Austral. Bds. ed. 2 (1898), pt. 1, 70; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 317; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 45.

Balabac (Everett); Luzon (Worcester); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Palawan (White). Australia and Austro-Malayan Islands.

"Similar to P. haliætus, but very much smaller; cere bluish lead-color; bill black; feet pale bluish white; iris primrose-yellow in some, bright orange in others. Length, 508; wing, 414. A specimen killed by Mr. Wallace in New Guinea had the wing 432 long." (Sharpe.)

"Adult.--Upper surface of body, wings, and tail, glossy brown, the feathers mesially shaded with a darker tint, many of the feathers of the interscapular region, back, scapulars, and shoulders margined with white; primaries blackish brown, black at the tip past the notch, the inner web becoming white on the margin toward the base, some showing remains of brown bars; a few of the inner primaries, some of the adjacent secondaries and wing-coverts, narrowly margined with buffy white; under surface of the wings white, the outer series of the under coverts blotched with brown; feathers along the outer margin of the wing from elbow to base of primaries, dark brown margined with white, under surface of the secondaries and of the primaries past the notch ashy brown, the basal marginal portion of the inner webs white, barred down the center portion with brown; head, throat, and back of the neck white, a few feathers on the nape having a streak of blackish brown down the center; lores blackish lead-color; ear-coverts blackish brown, which color extends on to the sides of the neck, where the feathers are brown margined with white; chest, breast, and lower part of hind neck white, much mottled with brown on the tips of the feathers, and occasionally centered with a blackish stripe; the remainder of the under surface, thighs, and tail-coverts white; tail above brown, feathers narrowly margined at the tips with white, the inner webs of a lighter brown, all except the two center quills broadly margined and toothed with white toward the base; under surface of tail ashy white, tips of the feathers ashy margined with white. Bill black; legs and feet lead-blue; iris yellow. Length, 760; wing, 508; tail, 228; tarsus, 63; bill, 43; from nostril, 30; culmen, 49.

"Observation.--In some specimens, apparently fully adult, the whole of breast, chest, and sides of the neck are strongly mottled with brown, and the feathers centered with a blackish stripe; the under wing-coverts are barred with brown; the scapulars, upper wing-coverts, and quills scarcely if at all margined with white; in others the whole of the head and neck, except the ear-coverts and sides of the neck immediately behind them, is white, without any brown markings, and the dull brown of the chest takes no definite form, but is for the most part darkest on the center of the feathers." (North.)

Genus POLIOAËTUS Kaup, 1847.

Bill decidedly compressed, width of upper mandible at nostril less than its depth; primaries obliquely and slightly cut on inner web and exceeding secondaries by less than tarsus; back of tarsus smooth with plate divisions obsolete.

205. POLIOAËTUS ICHTHYÆTUS (Horsfield).

GRAY-HEADED FISH EAGLE.

Falco ichthyætus Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. (1821), 13, pt. 1, 136. Polioaetus ichthyaetus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1874), 1, 452. Polioaëtus ichthyaëtus Sharpe, Hand-List (1899), 1, 279; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 217; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 45.

Basilan (Bourns & Worcester); Bongao (Everett); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Luzon (Whitehead); Mindanao (Steere Exp., Celestino); Mindoro (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Negros (Keay); Samar (Whitehead). Malay and Indian Peninsulas, Burmese provinces, Greater Sunda Islands, Celebes, Ceylon.

"Adult male.--Above brown, paler on the interscapulary region and darker on the wings, primaries blackish; under surface of wing leaden brown, with a whitish spot at base of primaries; tail white, with a broad terminal bar of brown; entire head and neck all round clear ashy gray; breast brown, a little lighter than the back; belly, vent, thighs, lower flanks, and under tail-coverts pure white; under wing-coverts uniform ashy brown. Cere and bill blackish; feet dirty yellowish white; iris brown. Length, 660; culmen, 58; wing, 457; tail, 254; tarsus, 95.

"Adult female.--Similar to the male but larger. Length, 737; wing, 518; tarsus, 99.

"Young.--Above brown, glossed with chocolate, most of the feathers of the upper surface with paler brown margins; feathers of the head and hind neck mesially streaked with fulvous; sides of face a little paler than the head, but streaked in the same manner; under surface of body pale brown, inclining to rufous, and longitudinally streaked with whitish down the center; thighs white, much mottled with rufous-brown; lower abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts pure white; under wing-coverts pale brown, plainly streaked with white, the greater series almost entirely white, with a few brown markings; quills brown, white at base of inner web, the white extending further on secondaries; which have ashy brown cross-bars; tail fulvous brown, mottled all over with dark brown, except at the tip, which is uniform dark brown, forming a very distinct band.

"The bird above described, though full grown, is evidently immature as regards its plumage. The second stage is very similar to the adult, but is by no means so gray on the head and throat." (Sharpe.)

"Less common than Haliæetus leucogaster but frequents the same localities. Quite abundant at Lake Naujan in Mindoro." (Bourns and Worcester MS.)

A few individuals were seen near the Baco River in Mindoro and Celestino took a pair of young birds in northern Mindanao.

Order STRIGIFORMES.

OWLS.

Head large and round; bill strongly hooked and with a cere which is more or less hidden by stiffish bristles; eyes large, directed forward, each surrounded by a more or less perfect ruff of modified, close-textured feathers; in most species a bunch of elongate erectile feathers above each eye forming the so-called horns or ear-tufts; feet strong, claws curved and sharp; outer toe reversible; plumage soft and fluffy; colors generally various shades of brown, gray, and rufous and in most species vermiculated and streaked, the plumage resembling that of the Caprimulgidæ; habits nocturnal, or crepuscular, and insectivorous; eggs white, nearly globular, usually deposited in a hole in a hollow branch or trunk of a tree, or in a deserted hawk's nest.

Families.

a1. Claw of middle toe not pectinate; middle toe longer than inner toe. ... Strigidæ (p. 249) a2. Claw of middle toe pectinate on inner margin; inner and middle toes about equal in length. ... Aluconidæ (p. 271)

Family STRIGIDÆ.

Characters same as those given in the key to Families.

Subfamilies.

a1. Ear-conch not larger than eye and without an operculum; portion of facial disk below the eye greater than the area above the eye. ... Buboninæ (p. 249) a2. Ear-conch much larger than eye and with a large operculum; facial disk distinct and extending as far above as below the eye. ... Striginæ (p. 270)

Subfamily BUBONINÆ.