BREWSTER: BIRDS OF THE CAPE REGION, LOWER CALIFORNIA. 99 



secured. Of these one was followed after dark and shot while in the act of 

 calliuL;; another was started from some thick brush in the daytime ; and the 

 third, also shot hy dayliglit, was sitting in a tree surrounded by a noisy and 

 excited mob of little birds, cliiefly Baird's Juncos. During Mr. Frazar's autumn 

 visit to the Sierra only one of these Owls was heard, on the night of Novem- 

 ber 30. Probably they do not call freely at this season. 



Hoskins's Owl is ajiparently not confined to the Cape Region, for Mr. Bryant 

 reports that he " shot a male at Comondu, March 22, 1889." 



Micropallas whitneyi (Coopeb). 

 Elf Owl. 



Micrathene whitneyi Belding, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., V. 1883, 549 (Miraflores) ; VI 

 1883, 849 (Victoria Mts.) 



Micropallas whitneyi Bryant, Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., 2d ser., II. 1889, 285 (Vic- 

 toria Mts. ; Miraflores). Besdike, Life Hist. N. Auier. Birds, pt. I. 1892 

 411 (Miraflores). 



Two specimens of this Owl, collected by Mr. Belding, have been sent me for 

 examination by 'Mv. Ridgway. They are labeled respectively : 87,605 " Nat. 

 Mus., Miraflores, Lower V'al., May 5, 1882, ?, L. Belding," and 87,263 " Nat. 

 Mus., Miraflores Tillage, May 8, 1882, L. Belding coll., $ I believe — not cer- 

 tain." Both are considerably deeper colored, especially above, than any of my 

 Arizona examples, the former having the upper parts decided ashy brown in- 

 stead of faded grayish brown, as in the latter. No. 87,605 lacks nearly all 

 trace of the usual abundant and conspicuous rusty markings on the face and 

 under jjarts, while the rusty spots on the crown, back, and wings are com- 

 paratively few and faint. No. 87,263 has the rusty of normal extent, but of a 

 somewhat richer tint than usual. Neither specimen shows any apparent ap- 

 proach to the deep rusty colored and evidently quite distinct M. graysoni of 

 Socorro Island. 



Mr. Belding asserts that he found the Elf Owl " common, if not abun- 

 dant" at Miraflores in 1882, and that he also met with it in "the mountains" 

 in 1883, but it " appeared to be less common here than in the cactus regions " 

 at lower levels. Mr. Bryant supplements this by stating that Mr. Belding 

 C(dlected four examples at ^liraflores in April, 1882, but did not succeed in 

 obtaining any in the mountains. This is of some importance, in view of the 

 fact that Mr. Frazar failed not only to obtain specimens, but even to see or 

 hear the bird, although during the nine months which he spent in Lower Cali- 

 fornia, he went over most of the ground covered by Mr. Belding. He made 

 no collections at Miraflores, however. 



The Elf Owl has not been found as yet in the central or northern portions 

 of the Peninsula, but it occurs in southern California and Arizona as well as 

 in northwestern Mexico. 



