PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 115 



longitudinal, black dashes. Lower parts grayish- white, with numerous, 

 very narrow, transverse bars of dusky, each feather with a mesial 

 stripe of black, these stripes forming on the breast conspicuous spots; 

 tibite and tarsi dull soiled-white, spotted with dark brown ; crissum 

 immaculate white. Wing, G.50; tail, 3.30; culmen, .55 ; tarsus, 1.15 ; 

 middle toe, .70. 



Young, in down, hut nearly full-grown (No. 10,932, Cape St. Lucas, 

 Lower California ; J. Xantus) : — Remiges and rectrices as in the adult. 

 Eest of the plumage, above and below, including the head, narrowly 

 barred with dusky and grayish-white, the former predominating above, 

 the latter prevailing below ; eyebrows and lores white ; wing-coverts 

 finely mottled transversely with dusky and white, the latter forming 

 spots on the lower feathers ; tibiae and tarsi with numerous dusky bars. 



Remarks. — An adult from Stockton, California (E. S. Holden), kindly 

 loaned me by Mr. Geo. N. Lawrence, and the only United States example, 

 besides the one described above, that I have seen, differs from the 

 specimen from New Mexico in having the general tint of the plumage 

 rather more brownish, and the mesial blackish streaks of the upper parts 

 less distinct. It measures, wing, 0.20 ; tail, 3.10. 



The form of Scops-owl represented by the specimens described above, 

 as well as by those from which Mr. Sharpe's descriptions are drawn, is 

 certainly to be distinguished from the several styles of S. asio treated 

 in the foregoing pages; but whether it is a distinct species, or merely 

 another geographical race of asio, cannot be decided without additional 

 material. For the present, however, I keep it separate, on account of 

 the different pattern of the markings on the lower plumage, which in 

 S. asio is exactly the same in all the several races. 



There is also considerable doubt as to the name this form should bear. 

 Wagler {I. c.) describes an owl from Mexico which may be this bird, 

 but the only pertinent character which I am able to glean from his 

 description is that the toes are bristled ; it is, therefore, either this bird 

 or one of the forms of asio ; but in identifying the Scops trichopsis of 

 Wagler with the bird under consideration, I merely adopt the determi- 

 nation of that name as made by Messrs. Sclater and Salvin, and, sub- 

 sequently, by Mr. Sharpe. 



That this is the bird which Mr. Sharpe describes as Scojjs asio, "snbsp. 

 d. Scops trichopsis'''' [l. c), there can be no doubt, his description fitting 

 perfectly the example described above, while his additional remarks 

 on pp. 120, 121, show that he fully appreciated the character of the 

 diflereuces between it and true asio. We transcribe Mr. Sharpe's 

 remarks : — 



" Ohs. This is a small race of S. Icennicotti [qu. lapsus calam. for 

 asio f] ; but, as far as can be determined, it has only a grey phase and 

 no brown one. Its measurements distinguish it at once ; and it may 

 also be told by its narrowly barred under surface, every feather being- 

 streaked with black, and barred with the same, from the chin to the 



