30 HARRY C. OBERHOLSER. 



iow'RTih ida/ioc?ins m llie narrow strcaking bclow, and in 

 the sliglit black niarkings oii crown and ccrvix ; but ils 

 vcry dark color throughoiil, and Ihe largo amount of 

 black on oar-covciis indicato its proper referencc to tbo 

 Colorado form. A spocimon from Big Trees, California,' is 

 apparcnlly somowiiat inlormodiato, but still nndoubtod- 

 ly to bc rot'oi'red lo flammeolus rather tban idalioensis^ 

 for llie slreaks below are mncb beavicr than in tlio lailor, 

 the rufous of head is decidcdly darker, there is mucii 

 black in the rufT, the upper surface is darker with 

 increased black niarkings, particnlarly on head and neck. 

 From Colorado specimens of ßamrneolus this example 

 difl'ers, however, in the much greater amonnt of rufons 

 in the face, on crown, occiput, and cervix ; in the 

 somewhat more narrowly streaked, less closely vermicu- 

 lated and conseqnently lighter ander parts. 



Sumichrast gives the color of the iris as golden yellow, 

 the cere as olive yellow; bnt Mr. Ridgway records(l) the 

 iris of the Colorado bird {fideMr^. M. A. Maxwell) as umher 

 brown. Recently also Mr. R. L. Jones remarks (2) that the 

 eyes of birds obtained by him in Colorado were dark 

 brown, thus substantiating ]\lrs. MaxwTll's Observation. 

 Mr. Jones also mentions that the soles of the feet are pale 

 yellowish green. 



Although specimens of this species in the Berlin Mu- 

 seum, probably sent thither from Mexico by Deppe about 

 the year 1829, had received the name Strix flammcola 

 from Lichtenstein, no published account sccms to havc 

 appeared until 18.')9, it being reserved for Kaup, in the 

 Tramactions of the Zoologlcal Society of Lo?if/on, lirst to 

 put into print a technical description, under the name 

 Scops flamineola . During the several years that immedi- 

 ately succeeded, several specimens were taken at different 

 localities in Mexico and Guatemala, due records of which 

 appeared in various European publicalions. The lirst spec- 

 imen for the United States was securcd by Capt. John 



(1) Vroc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1878, I, lO:.. 



(2) Osprey, Nov., 1898, III, 4G. 



