662 BIRDS OF SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS. 



Genus SYRNIUM Savigxy. 



118. Syrnium nebulosum(FoRST. ). Barred Owl. 



I saw a handsomely mounted specimen of this Owl ui a drug store at 

 Corpus Christi, near which place it had been shot. At San Antonio, 

 in a thicket on the river bank, 1 found the dessicated remains of one 

 which had evidently been dead a long time. Dresser says the bird is 

 " very abundant at all seasons of the year in the wooded parts of the 

 country." 



Genus MEGASCOPS Kaup. 



119. Mega-scops asio mccallii (Cass.) Texan Screech Owl. 



Hancock captured a pair of these Screech Uwls near Corpus Christi 

 on March 2G; they were breeding, and the eggs were also secured. 

 Dresser shot two of them, one in Bandera County, adjoining Bexar 

 County on the northwest, and the other near San Antonio. 



Genus BUBO Cuvieh. 



120. Bubo virginianus (Gmel.). Great Horned Owl. 



I did not see this bird, but at Leon Springs and Corpus Christi I 

 learned from reliable sources of its occurrence at those places. Ilan- 

 cock states that it is common in the timber country north of Corpus 

 Christi, and Dresser found it "common throughout the country." 



Genas NYCTEA Stephexs. 



121. Nyctea nyctea (Linn.). Snowy Owl. 



This strigidine tramp's title to mention here rests solely upon the note 

 of Dr. Heermann, quoted in Dresser's paper, where it is stated that "a 

 single specimen was shot near San Antonio three years before the war." 



Genus SPEOTYTO Gloger. 



122. Speotyto cunicularia hypogaea (Bonap.). Burrowing Owl. 



I did not find this Owl at all common at San Antonio ; in fact, I saw 

 it but once there ; but Dresser intimates that it is not uncommon in that 

 locality. In the immediate vicinity of Corpus Christi it seemed to be 

 abundant, as I rarely went out without seeing one or more. 



Order COCCYGES. Cuckoos, Kingfishers, etc. 



Family CCTCULID.E. Cuckoos. 

 Genus GEOCOCCYX Waglek. 



123. Geococcyx californianus (Less.). Road-runner. 



At all four of the places visited in Texas 1 heard of the "Paisano" 

 (the name it is generally known by in southwestern Texas) as being an 

 abundant and Avell-known bird, but it was not met with until March 9, 

 at San Antonio, when one was surprised up in a small tree in a mesquite 

 thicket near the river. While she was deliberating what to do (only 



