THE FLAMMULATED SCREECH OWLS. 29 



oF idahoensis^ and appreciably more so than in any oi" thc 

 prescnt examplcs of ßammeolus. Tho, legs are white, 

 marked thickly with dusky, but liavc scarcoly a tinge of 

 buffy. Althoiigh somewiiat resembling tho type of 

 M. ßammeolus idahoensis^ this specimen is rathcr less 

 dcoply colored above, without the considerable riifons 

 admixtiire; and is very miich more closely vermicuhitcd 

 below, especially on the breast, lacking also here very 

 much of the riifons. 



A specimen from Presidio County, Texas, which, it 

 may be noted, adds the species to the avifanna of tlie 

 State , d iflers from the Mexican specimen described in having 

 very much bhick in the ruft' and very heavy streaks below, 

 these latter bring broader than in any other of thc speci- 

 mcns at prescnt available. Other slight diffcrenccs exist 

 in the heavy marking of the tarsi, the much less white 

 onalula and greater coverts, the deeper buffy ochraceous 

 of the chin and narial vibrissae as well as the faint indi- 

 cation ofthe rufous nuchal band. An example from the 

 Grand Canon ofthe Colorado River, Arizona, differs widely 

 from all the other specimcns in its very dark coloration 

 throughout. This condition would seem not to be due to 

 immaturity, if the Colorado bird above described be the 

 plumage of the immature, which evidently seems to be 

 the case. Except on the cervix, which is conspicuously 

 mottled with black, white, and ochraceous, the upper 

 parts are dark gray with a somewhat brownish tinge, very 

 linely vermiculated with slate color and black, varied 

 with grayish white and ochraceous. The whole pileum is 

 sufFused Avith ferruginous, and marked with small spots 

 of black, the nuchal and occipilal bands being thus oblit- 

 erated. That portion of the rulf immediately behind the 

 ear-coverts is very intense black, but this color does not 

 much extend to other portions of the ruff. Below, with 

 the exception of chin, throat, and extreme posterior por- 

 tions, the vermiculations are very dark and numerous, 

 giving the bird a sombre appearance, although the shaft 

 markings are quite narrow. This example thus verges 



