STRIGID.E — THE OW^LS— GLAUCIDIUM. 443 



outer web of the second, third, and tburfli quills ; the rest of the spots light brown. A 

 row of white spots on edges of lesser coverts, four on the ujjper, seven on the lower series, 

 with a row of light brown spots Ijetween. A few white spots also on outer secondaries. 

 A white stripe on outer row of scapulars, edged by light brown stripes towards the middle 

 of back. Rest of wing feathers dark brown, the secondaries with light ashy dots towards 

 their ends. Tail feathers colored like the quills, the light spots forming five broken bars, 

 and another narrower bar at the tip. Wings and tail ashy-brown beneath, with white 

 bars ; edge of wing white ; lower wing coverts white, tinged with yellowish, and with a 

 dark brown patch at their ends. 



StifT feathers above eye white, with black spots on the middle of their shafts. Feathers 

 below orbit light brown, faintly barred with darker ; bristles around bill black for their 

 outer half Chin and throat fiiathers white, their bases black, and the tips of the lower 

 scries light brown ; the white thus forming a broad crescent in front of neck, extending 

 between outer angles of orbits, somewhat broken at the median line, and edged with 

 brown, darkest laterally. Sides of neck narrowly barred with ashy, alternating with light 

 and dark brown ; a large white patch in fi-ont of neck, mottled with blackish. Breast im- 

 perfectly barred and blotched with the same colors, the brown forming large patches 

 toward abdomen, margined with gray and white. Sides more grayish, tinged yellow, flanks 

 l)lumbeous. Tiliial feathers narrowly barred with light and dark brown. Tarsal bristles 

 white, those on toes yellowish. Length, G. 25 ; extent, 15.25 ; wing, 4.50 ; tail, 2.25 ; tar- 

 sus, 0.00 ; middle toe, O.GO ; with its claw, 0.70; inner lateral claw reaching to base of 

 middle, outer to base of inner ; hind toe and claw, 0.50 ; gape of bill, 0.45 ; its height, 0.30 ; 

 with at base, 0.40. Iris bright yellow ; bill pale green (drying black with yellow edges) ; 

 soles yellow ; claws horn-brown. 



Hub. Colorado Valley, California. 



No. 208, State collection, male (?), sliot at Fort Mojave, lat. 35°, Colorado 

 Valley, on April 26, 1801, is a.s yet a uni(jue specimen. It is the smallest 

 owl yet discovered within the United States, being considerably less than 

 the little Glaucidiimi gnovia. In colors it much resembles that species, but 

 diflers essentially in the generic characters, these being closely like those 

 of our Athene, the burrowing owl. Its habits are probably, however, en- 

 tirely different, as I found it in a dense thicket, on a very windy morning, 

 where it may perhaps have merely taken a temporary refuge, after being 

 blown down from some of the caverns in the barren mountains surrounding 

 the valley. Its stomach contained insects and some small feathers. 



Genus GLAUCIDIUM, Boie. 



Glaiicidiiwi, BoiE, Isis, 182G, 970. 



Gen. Char. Size very small ; head moderate, untufted ; wings moderate or rather 

 short ; tail short ; facial disk nearly obsolete ; bill short, rather wide, strong ; tarsi fully 

 feathered ; claws rather long and curved, very sharp. 



