THE FLAMMULATED SCREECH OWLS. 25 



Check-liü, 1886,1). 202; Ridgway, Man. N. Am. liinJs, 1887, j). 2G2; 

 Davie, iVes/s and E(j(j^ .\. Am. Birch, 1 880, p. 1 97 ; Relding, Land liirds 

 Pac. Bist., 1890, p. ;i2; Smith, Ornith. et Oologiat, 1891, XVI, p. 27; 

 Merriam, Aiih, 1892, l.\,p. 170; Bendire, Life Hist. N. Am. Birds, 

 1892, l, p. 374; llasbrouck, Auft, 1893, X, p. 260; Fisher, Hawks 

 and Oals of U. S., 1893, p. 173. 

 Megascops flammeola A. 0. U. Check-Lisf, 189o, p. 147; Ingra- 

 ham, Aiik, 1897, XIV, p. 403; Cooke, Bull. Colorado Exper. 87«., 

 n" 37, 1897, p. 78 ; id.. Bull. Cola. Exper. Sta., n° 44, 1898, p. 161 ; 

 Davie, Sests and E(jOS A'. Am. Birds, 1898, p. 241. 



Ghars. sp. — Megascops .'itatura parva, tarsis totis plu- 

 mosis, pedis digitis midis ; siipra ex briinneo canus, nigres- 

 cente mannoratvs, vertice capitlsque lateribus fulvo lavatis ; 

 iafra albidiis, nigro fulvogue strigatus et vermiculatus. 



Geographica! distribution. — Guatemala, xMexico, 

 and tlie Uniled Stules north to California and Colorado. 



Description. — (Specimen from Orizaba Mountains, 

 Mexico.) General tone of upper parts brownish gray, 

 closely vermiculated wilh blackish, most of the feathers 

 liaving more or less of the lattor color on their central 

 portions. The upper surface thus presents a finely and 

 rather confusedly mottled appearance, the visible dark 

 markings being not conspicuous, though most evident on 

 Ihe crown, where the ground color is tinged with dull 

 ochraceous. Forehead, superciliary stripe, a band on occi- 

 put and ono on lower cervix grayish white, the two last 

 separated by a zone of hiwny, — all these mottled and 

 vermiculated wilh dark brown and black; upper portion of 

 interscapular region suffused with rufous ; distal portions 

 of exterior webs of most of scapulars white, then tawny 

 ochraceous, margined along shafts and tipped with dark 

 Ijrown or black, longest scapulars banded with ochraceous 

 1)11 11 and tawny wliitish. Wings fuscous brown, tiic pri- 

 maries broadly indented on outer webs wilh tawny 

 white, Ihis changing to ochraceous on the outer quill 

 and towards the extremilies of all, these markings being 

 most conspicuous on the second and fourlh feathers; outer 

 webs of all the rest and of secondaries with broad bars of 

 ochraceous ; inner webs of primaries with indistinct, inner 



