BIEDS OF NOETH AND MIDDLE AMERICA. 677 



GYMNASIO NUDIPES NUDIPES (Daudin). 



BARE-LEGGED OWL. 



Brown phase. 



Adults (sexes alike) . — Above bro\Mi, more or less distinctly marked 

 with irregular narrow transverse bars or vermiculations of paler 

 brown, the anterior part of crown, the back, and scapulars sometimes 

 showing dusky shaft-streaks; wing-coverts similar in coloration to 

 back, but the lower or outermost ones usually with a few irregular 

 whitish spots; secondaries fhiely vermiculated, like the \ving-co verts, 

 but sometimes showing indistinct narrow bands of paler brown; pri- 

 maries spotted on outer webs with pale brown and whitish; tail ver- 

 miculated, much like secondaries, occasionally with indistinct and 

 interi-upted bars of lighter brown, these better defined, and paler, 

 on inner webs; "eyebrow" (superciliary region) and lores (sometimes 

 also a subauricular space) white, the feathers with dusky shafts; 

 orbital region dusky brown; auricular region narrowly bai-red with 

 light and dark brown; under parts mostly white, the feathers with 

 broad mesial streaks of dusky and with more or less numerous trans- 

 verse vermiculations or narrow and irregular bars of brown, the abdo- 

 men and under tail-coverts, however, sometimes immaculate white; 

 short feathers of thighs and upper part of tarsi pale brown or whitish 

 narrowly barred with deeper brown; bill horn color, paler at tip; ° 

 iris brown; ^ toes and bare part of legs pale brown, the claws horn 

 color,® 



Young. — Above nearly uniform olive-brown, the remiges and rec- 

 trices as in adults; lower part and sides of head and neck similar in 

 color to upper parts but much lighter browTi; rest of under parts 

 distinctly barred with dusky brown and pale fulvous; anterior por- 

 tion of ''eyebrow" white. 



Rufous phase. 



Adults (sexes alike) , — Above dull ciimamon-rufous, hazel, or russet, 

 frequently nearly, sometimes quite, uniform; outer webs of exterior 

 scapulars white or pale fulvous, margined with black or dusky; wings 

 as in the brown phase but the brown replaced by cinnamon-rufous; 

 tail dull rufous-brown, uniform or with indistinct narrow bars; 

 "eyebrow," lores, chm, and throat white, usually showing m strong 

 contrast with the surrounding deep cinnamon-rufous, the white of 

 throat usually extending laterally to behind the auricular region, 

 these lateral branches usually bordered posteriorly by blackish bars, 

 which sometimes, though rarely, also cross the throat; under parts 

 chiefly white, but this much broken by iiregular cross-lines and ver- 



a A. and E. Newton. 



b According to the Messrs. Newton the iris (of G. n. newto7ii) is "bright hazel." 



