Birds 75 



is rather common; another race, B. 0. lagophonus of Oberholser, 

 has been taken as a straggler. Asio includes two common species, 

 the American Long-eared Owl (A. otus wilsonianus) and the Short- 

 eared Owl (A. flammeus), the latter a winter visitor. Their 

 vernacular names indicate the difference, the ear-tufts of A. flam- 

 meus are inconspicuous. Of Otus we have the Rocky Mountain 

 Screech Owl (Otus asio maxwelliae) and the darker and more 

 heavily streaked race of the same species, 0. a. aikeni, each named 

 after a famous Colorado collector of birds. The type locality of 

 the first is in Boulder County, of the second in El Paso County. 

 It is singular that the Screech Owl should have one race north of 

 the Arkansas-Platte divide, and another south of it, but there is 

 some indication that the birds do not always keep to their own 

 territory. The Flammulated Screech Owl (Otus flammeolus) is 

 quite a rare bird, smaller than the forms of 0. asio, and with 

 shorter ear-tufts and bare unfeathered toes. 



The owls without ear-tufts are placed in five genera. The 

 small (wing under four inches) Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium gnoma pini- 

 cola (represents a southern type coming north and becoming modi- 

 fied accordingly. It is rarely found, usually among pine trees. 

 The plumage is mainly white (especially in the male) in the large 

 Snowy Owl, Nyctea nydea. It breeds in the arctic regions, and 

 comes south in winter. Not so large (wing 12 to \3*4 inches; 

 \5}4 to over 17 in Nyctea) are the species of Strix, both of which 

 are rare stragglers. Considerably smaller (wing six to eight 

 inches) are the genera Cryptoglaux and Speotyto, the toes densely 

 feathered in the former, merely bristly in the latter. The Saw- 

 Whet Owl (Cryptoglaux acadica) is a regular resident. It has a 

 black bill, but the very rare C. funerea richardsoni is larger and 

 has a yellow bill. The Burrowing Owl (Speotyto cunicularia hypo- 

 gaea) is the well known inhabitant of the prairie-dog towns, living 

 on the open plains, and of partially diurnal habits. It appears 

 that usually, at any rate, it does not burrow for itself, but occu- 

 pies deserted holes. 



PSITTACI 



The beautiful Carolina Paroquet (Conuropsis carolinensis) 

 enters the Colorado list on the strength of a statement by Berthoud, 

 that in the early sixties of the last century he saw specimens on 



