Part 99

Calayan (McGregor).

Adult male, light phase; type.--Lower parts dark cinnamon finely mottled with brown and white, a few feathers on throat and breast with dark brown shaft-stripes or spots; abdomen, flanks, and under tail-coverts extensively white with very little cinnamon and the brown mostly reduced to fine speckles; thighs and tarsi cinnamon with cross-lines of dark brown; upper parts dark rufous finely mottled with blackish brown, producing a rather uniform coloration; lores, continuous with a line above eyes, white; tips of nasal and loral bristles dusky brown or cinnamon, the longest about 20 mm.; modified feathers of ear-coverts and below eye finely speckled with white and dark brown; behind this the incomplete ruff forms a conspicuous rufous band along side of head, but most of the feathers tipped with dusky brown; feathers of ear-tufts dark rufous with irregular blackish spots toward tips; wing-coverts and scapulars about same as back, some of the latter with a large white area on outer web; exposed surface of quills and tail similar and a little lighter than back; tail crossed by several irregular lighter bars; quills dusky brown; outer webs of outer primaries notched with pale cinnamon; inner webs of quills crossed by pale cinnamon bars which become very wide on secondaries; tarsi feathered nearly to toes. Bill, feet, and nails brown, the feet with a slight green wash; iris bright yellow. Length, 216; wing, 169; tail, 85; culmen, 21; tarsus, 31; middle toe with claw, 29.

Female.--In every way similar to the male. Length, 203; wing, 164; tail, 81; culmen, 21; tarsus, 31; middle toe with claw, 28. In the red phase, the white markings, except a few bars and freckles on abdomen and flanks, are replaced by rufous.

219. OTUS ROMBLONIS McGregor.

ROMBLON SCREECH OWL.

Otus romblonis McGregor, Publ. Gov. Labs. Manila (1905), 25, 12; Phil. Jour. Sci. (1906), 1, 768; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 46.

Banton (Celestino); Romblon (McGregor).

Adult female, type.--Feathers of upper parts rufous with median black stripes on head, neck, and back, heaviest on head; ear-tufts colored like neck and inconspicuous; white spots on scapulars washed with pale fulvous; lower parts and wings patterned as in O. cuyensis but more rufescent; black band on side of head narrower and less marked than in cuyensis. Length, 222; wing, 158; tail, 76; tarsus, 29; middle toe with claw, 28.

This species is similar to Otus cuyensis from which it differs in having shorter wings and tail.

220. OTUS BOHOLENSIS McGregor.

BOHOL SCREECH OWL.

Otus boholensis McGregor, Phil. Jour. Sci. (1907), 2, sec. A, 323.

Bohol (McGregor).

Female, type.--Crown, nape, and interscapular area, conspicuously blackish, the feathers sparingly vermiculated and notched with sandy buff; basal portion of a few feathers sandy buff forming a narrow and hidden nuchal band; forehead whitish, the whitish marking continued as a wide band over each eye to tips of ear-tufts on inner webs, outer webs blackish spotted with fulvous, these white bands more or less broken by fine vermiculations of dark brown; loral plumes whitish with blackish tips; ear-coverts grayish, shaded with fulvous and narrowly barred with dark brown, the hinder ear-coverts tipped with black forming a short band; side of neck whitish with fine blackish cross-lines and wide blackish tips to the feathers; behind ear-coverts an imperfect ruff of whitish feathers with wide terminal or subterminal black bars; chin whitish; feathers of throat somewhat modified in continuation of the ruff; breast, sides, and abdomen rufescent cinnamon with fine vermiculations and irregularly shaped median stripes of blackish brown, each feather with one or two rounded spots of light buff on each web; under tail-coverts light sandy buff with a few wavy blackish lines near their tips; legs sandy buff crossed by distinct wavy blackish lines; feathering of tarsi extending nearly to basal joints of toes; primaries dark brown; the outer webs with large clear and distinct spots of sandy buff, six in number on short first primary, and corresponding faint bars on inner webs; secondaries dark brown with sandy buff bars somewhat obscured by darker vermiculations; the primary-coverts resemble the secondaries, and first quill of alula is marked like the primaries; secondary-coverts, scapulars, and back vermiculated with sandy buff, light buff, and blackish brown and marked with large irregular blackish brown spots; under wing-coverts nearly white, inner ones uniform, the outer buff mottled with blackish; edge of wing white; tail dark brown, mottled with sandy buff and with seven or eight poorly defined bars of sandy buff. Wing, 155; tail, 82; tarsus, 30; culmen from base, 24; culmen from anterior margin of cere, 16; ear-tuft, 29.

This owl is clearly allied to Strix lempiji Horsfield, and doubtless it is closely related to Scops everetti Tweeddale, with which it should be compared. The type was taken in the interior of Bohol and is the only specimen known.

Genus NINOX Hodgson, 1837.

Usually larger than Otus; neither ruff nor ear-tufts present; tarsus more or less feathered; toes sparsely covered with stiff bristles; primaries much longer than secondaries.

Species.

a1. Breast streaked, each feather broadly centered with darker color.

b1. Wing-coverts uniform with no rows of white spots.

c1. Belly white, streaked or largely spotted with brown.

d1. Head grayer, much lighter than back, which is browner; tail clear gray tipped with white, the black bands in strong contrast; axillars barred with brown and white; wing, 200 to 220 mm. ... lugubris (p. 261) d2. Head browner, generally uniform with the back, seldom grayer; tail dark brown with blackish brown bars.

e1. Smaller; wing, 197 to 210 mm. ... scutulata (p. 262) e2. Larger; wing, 218 to 235 mm. ... japonica (p. 263)

b2. Wing-coverts spotted with white; outer edge of primaries with distinct rows of white spots.

c1. Top of head uniform ... philippensis (p. 264) c2. Top of head more or less spotted.

d1. Larger; wing, 195 mm. ... everetti (p. 265) d2. Smaller; wing, 162 to 175 mm. ... spilocephala (p. 266); reyi (p. 267)

a2. Breast spotted or transversely barred with fine lines.

b1. Much larger; wing, about 240 mm. ... spilonota (p. 266) b2. Much smaller; wing, 160 to 170 mm. ... mindorensis (p. 268); plateni (p. 268)