Stray Feathers. A Journal of Ornithology for India and its Dependencies June 1874

The Wood Owl inhabits the forest on the lower mountains of the central and southern provinces of Ceylon and the primeval forests of the hilly country of the south and west of the island. [...] After the lapse of a few weeks the tips of the feathers of the interscapular region next the scapulars and those of the lower part of the sides of the neck just above the point of the closed wing began to darken and a V shaped mark having its apex about the middle of the back was formed; this was the origin of the deep sepia brown back of the adult stage. [...] The nareal and frontal bristles are fulvous brown at base tipped black ; the aural are pale fulvous brown; the forehead is greyish or brownish white minutely freckled or powdered with darker brown ; the whole of the rest of the top and the back of the head is a darkish hair brown the feathers more or less minutely powdered with pale yellowish brown ; some of the feathers of the front of the he [...] The tips of all the feathers of the base of the throat pure white margined above with a black line and forming a conspicuous gorget; below this the breast is dull brown the feathers powdered towards the tips with rufous buff and some of the lowermost with large white tips bounded above with a black line as in the case of the feathers of the base of the throat above described. [...] Umekantak is to the natives from the geographical—as Benares is from the religious—point of view the navel or central point of India The above enumerated plateaus and hill ranges break the division up into a number of very distinct rain-basins or catchment areas as follows :—In the north-west the tributaries of the Sone of which the principal are the Koel Kunhur Rer and Banas drain a large