STRIGID.^: OTHER OWLS. 643 



GLAUCI'DIUM. (Gr. yXavKibiov, glaukidion, dimin. of yXamos or yXavKos, glankos, gleam- 

 iii<r or glaring, as an Owl's eyes are; hence yXav^, glnux, au Owl. Cf. the well-known epithet, 

 yXavKcoTTis 'AdrjVTj, (jlaucopis Athene, gleaming-eyed Athena, Pallas, or Minerva, goddess of war 

 and wisdom, to whom the y\av^ was sacred.) Gnome Owls. Sparrow Owls. Pygmy 

 Owls. Size very small. Head perfectly smooth ; no plumicorus ; ear-parts small, non- 

 operculate ; facial disc very incomplete ; eye not centric. Nostrils circular, opening in the 

 tumid cere; bill robust. Tarsus fully and closely feathered, but toes only bristly for the most 

 part. Wings short and much rounded; 4th primary longest, 1st quite short, 3 outer ones 

 emargiuate, next 1 or 2 sinuate. Tail long, about f as long as wing, even or nearly so. 

 Claws strong, much curved. A large genus of very small Owls, mostly of tropical countries. 

 The numerous species, chiefly of warm parts of America, are in dire confusion, but those known 

 to inhabit North America are now well determined. The plumage of many or most species is 

 dichromatic, as in Scops, there being a red and a gray phase independently of age, season, or 

 sex; but the red is not known to occur in our G. gnoma. The upper parts are marked with 

 spots or lines ; bars, or rows of spots, cross wings and tail ; under parts streaked ; a cervical 

 collar. Notwithstanding their slight stature, the Gnome Owls are bold and predaceous, some- 

 times attacking birds quite as large as themselves. They are not specially nocturnal. The 

 eggs are laid in holes in trees. « 



Analysis of Species. 



Markings of upper parts in dots and round spots. Tail dark brown, with rows of white spots gnoma 



Markings of upper parts in sharp lines. Tail reddish, with dark brown bars phaloenoides 



G. gno'ina. (Lat. gnoma, a spirit of the mines.) Gnome Owl. Pygmy Owl. Adult $ ^ : 

 Tail concolor with back, and markings of upper parts, as well as those crossing wings and 

 tail, in form of dots or round spots, not lines or bars. Upper parts one shade of dark brown, 

 everywhere dotted with small circular spots of white; a collar of mixed blackish -bi-own and 

 white around back of neck ; breast with a band of mottled brown, separating the white throat 

 from white of rest of under part.'^, which have irregular lengthwise streaks of reddish -brown. 

 Wings and tail dusky-brown, the feathers marked on both webs with rows of round white 

 spots, largest on the inner; under wing-coverts white, crossed obliquely by a blackish bar. 

 Bill, cere, and feet dull greenish-yellow; soles chrome-yellow; claws black ; iris bright yel- 

 low; mouth livid flesh-color. Length of ^ 7.00 or a little less; extent 14.50; wing 3.75; 

 tail 3.00. Length of 9 ~-'^^^ > extent 15.50, etc. In 9 the upper parts are rather lighter, 

 with fewer larger spots, and a nearly obsolete nuchal collar ; but both sexes vary in the tint 

 of the upper parts, which ranges from pure deep brown to pale grayish, almost olivaceous, 

 brown, probably according to age and season, the newer feathers being darker than they are 

 when old and worn. Erytlirism, so well known in phal(rnoides, has not been observed in 

 the jtroscnt one, which is closely related to the Sparrow Owl of Europe ((?. passerinum). 

 Kocky Mts. and others of Western N. Am. from British Columbia S. to the tablelands of 

 Mexico, common in wooded regions ; an interesting little owl, crepuscular and rather diurnal 

 than strictly nocturnal, preying chiefly upon insects, but also upon birds and quadrupeds some- 

 times about as large as itself, as Robins, Grosbeaks, Towhees, Chipmunks, Gophers, etc. The 

 liird is usually found in coniferous forests, has low cooing notes, and nests in holes of trees or 

 stumps, mostly those made by Woodpeckers ; eggs 3-4, 1.02 X 0.01, white or whitish, mi- 

 nutely punctulate, laid in May or early June. 



G. g. californ'icum. (Lat. Californian.) CalifoRN'IAN Gnome Owl. CALIFORNIA 

 Pygmy Owl. Like the last ; darker colored. The Pacitic coast form of the foregniui;, 

 occurring in California, Oregon, Washington, and Ikitish Columbia. G. pnssn-i)iiim var. 

 cnlifornicum of the Key, orig. ed. 1H72, jt. 2(M!, which is G- gnoma of the 2d and 3d eds. l!!'H4 

 and 1887, p. 514, includes this subspecies. The two forms were not then discriminated, and 

 their ref(rf'nc(> to their Ennijiran relative was erroneous. The present subspecies is G. califor- 



