OWLS 



III 



The Rocky Mountain Screech Owl (Otiis asio 

 Maxwcllicc) was named in honor of Mrs. M. A. 

 Maxwell of Boulder, Colorado, a noted taxider- 

 mist and hunter. It is found in the foothills and 

 on the adjacent plains of the eastern Rocky 

 Mountains from southeastern Montana to central 

 Colorado. It is cons]iicuously lighter in color 

 than any other form, with the white purer and 

 more extended and the colored parts paler. 



MacFarlane's Screech Owl {Olus asio mac- 

 farlanci) is larger and very much darker than the 

 Rocky Mountain: in coloration it is similar to 

 the California hut is also larger than that form. 

 It occurs from the interior of I'ritisli Columhia 



New Mexico and northeastern Arizona, and east 

 to central Texas. 



The Mexican, or .Arizona, Screech Owl {Ottis 

 asio cincraceus) is similar to the Aiken's Screech 

 Owl, but it is more delicately i)enciled both 

 above and below, the pencilings on the under 

 ])arts averaging denser and more numerous : it 

 is found in southeastern California, northern 

 Lower California, Arizona, New Mexico, and 

 northwestern Mexico. 



A species closely allied to the Screech Owls is 

 the Spotted Screech Owl {Otiis triclwpsis). It is 

 somewhat like the Texas and Mexican Screech 

 Owls. i)ut smaller; the coloration is much darker. 



Photograph by A. A. Allen 



SCREECH OWL 

 Brooding her young in the hole of a dead maple 



south to eastern Washington. Oregon, and west- 

 ern Montana. 



Kennicott's Screech Owl ( Olus asiu kcuiii- 

 cotti) is large, like ]\IacFarlane's, but its colora- 

 tion is much darker and browner, the general 

 tone of the upper parts inclining to tawny-brown, 

 with the lighter markings brownish buff or paler 

 cinnamon, the under parts sufifused with pale 

 cinnamon, and the legs light tawny : the .gray 

 phase is relatively rare. This form is found in 

 the northwest coast region from Oregon to Sitka. 



Aiken's Screech Owl (Otiis asio aikciii) is 

 smaller and much darker than the Rocky Moun- 

 tain ; it is distributed over the foothills and 

 plains of east-central Colorado, south to central 



with coarser mottling on the upper ])arts ; the 

 lower hindneck is crossed by a collar of white 

 spots. It occurs from southern Arizona south to 

 Guatemala. 



Another related species is the Flammulated 

 Screech Owl (Ottis flainincoliis flaimncoliis) 

 and its variant form, the Dwarf, or Idaho, 

 Screech Owl (Otiis flainineoliis idalioensis). In 

 these two Owls the toes are entirely naked, the 

 ear-tufts, short (almost rudimentary), the upper 

 parts, grayish (cinnamon-brown in red phase), 

 finelv mottled and marked with blackish, the 

 facial circle, bright cinnamon to deep brown. 

 The Flammulated .Screech Owl is found in 

 Arizona and northern Colorado south to central 



