Owls 



373. Screech Owl (Megascops asio). L. 9.4; \\ • 

 6.4; T. 3. Two color pnases; with ear-tufts; eyes 

 yellow. Ad. Gray phase. Above buffy gray irreg- 

 ularly marked with black; below gray, white, rusty 

 and black. Ad. Red phase. Above bright rusty 

 brown with a few black streaks; below white streaked 

 with black and barred with rusty brown. Yng. Above 

 gray or rusty barred with black and white; below 

 white thickly barred with blackish. Notes A fre- 

 quently repeated tremulous, wailing whistle; often 

 followed by a slower refrain-like call; a castanet-like 

 snapping of the mandibles. 



Range. Eastern North America from Florida north to New Bruns- 

 wick, Ontario and Minnesota, "est to the Great Plains; resident. 



373a. Florida Screech Owl (M. a. floridanus). 



Smaller than No. 37s, W. 6.0; T. 2.8. Two color 

 phases. Similar to those of No. 373, but averaging 

 darker and more heavily marked below; especially in 

 red phase. 



Ringe. Florida, north along coast to South Carolina; west along 

 coast to Louisiana. 



373b. Texas Screech Owl (M. a. mccalli). Simi- 

 lar to No. 373, but smaller, W. 6.1, underparts, es- 

 pecially sides of belly, with more black bars; toes 

 barer. I have seen only a gray phase. 



Range. "From western and southern Texas across east border of 

 tablelands of Mexico." (Bailey.) 



373c. California Screech Owl \ M. a. bmdirei). 

 W. 6.6. A gray color phase only. Resembling No. 

 373, but somewhat darker above; less buff about the 

 nape; black streakings more regularly distributed; un- 

 derparts much as in No. 373b. 



Range. — California and southern Oregon. 



373d. Kennicott Screech Owl (M. .7. kennicottii). 



L. 10; VV. 7. 25. Ads. Sooty brown prevailing above; 

 blackish markings below nearly if not fully as wide as 

 white ones; darkest of our Screech Owls. 



Range.- Pacific coast from Oregon to Sitka. 



373e. Rocky Mountain Screech Owl (M. a. max- 



wellice). W. 7. Similar to No. 373f above but paler; 

 pale grayish buff predominating; black markings 

 throughout much narrower and less numerous than in 

 No. 373g; palest of our Screech Owls. 



Range.— "Foothills and adjacent plains of the east Rocky Moun- 

 tains from Colorado north to Montana" (Bendire). 



141 



Slie. 



