of the District of Montreal, 77 



especially on the nape of neck. A white spot tinged with yellow 

 on the outer vanes of the scapulars and wing coverts ; 3 or 4 

 white spots on the outer vanes of the primaries, which are rudi- 

 mentary on the 1st, and form bars on the inner vanes ; tail with two 

 white bands, tipped with white ; the bars made up like those on 

 the wings. 



Ventral aspect. Breast and throat liver brown, distinctly 

 defined ; lower part of the breast and belly, reddish brown ; tail and 

 wing coverts whitish ; quills of both slate coloured, barred with 

 white ; femorals and tarsals yellowish white, short, and continued 

 almost like hair along the toes, as far as the talons. 



Toes long and slender ; middle toe, with the claw, 8 lines long; 

 claws long, slender, very slightly grooved, except on middle 

 toe, which has a salient sharp inner edge. Inferior surface of 

 the talons compressed ; wings much rounded when extended ; 

 3rd and 4th primaries equal ; 2nd and 5th equal ; 1st and 8th 

 equal; tail square. Length 8^ inches; alar expanse 16 inches. 

 (Probably a female.) 



S. Balhousii. Dalhousie's owl. 



v.s.p. The whole appearance very much resembling the former 

 species. 



Dorsal aspect. Facial disk dirty white round the orbit, except 

 anteriorly, where it is blackish ; extremities of the facial disk 

 brown ; auricular ring like that of the former ; crown and nape 

 of neck liver brown, streaked with white, the white streak being 

 along the centre of each feather ; scapulars, wing coverts, wings 

 and tail, like the >S'. Acadica ; the spots on the inner vanes of the 

 primaries, however differing from those on the S. Acadica, in 

 being oval, and scarcely presenting the appearance of bars. 



Ventral aspect. Breast and belly streaked with reddish bi-own 

 and white, instead of being wholly brown as in the former. 



3rd primary longest ; 2nd and 4th equal ; 1st and 8th equal; 

 resmbles the former in all its other characters. 

 S. Kirtlandii. Kirtland's Owl. 



Nyctale Kirtlandica. Hog ! Cassin ! 



This rare, beautiful, and diminutive of the owl tribe was caught 

 alive in a grain store in this city a few years ago by Mr; Hunter, 

 Taxidermist to the Natural History Society. It was identified 

 through the instrumentality of Prof. Cassin's work on " The birds 

 of California, Texas, Oregon, and British and Russian America." 

 It is there mentioned as an inhabitant of the State of Wisconsin, 

 by Dr. Hog, who first described it, having obtained his specimens 



