FAMILY STRIGIDAE 151 



on under surface, less evident on back and scapulars ; under surface 

 of primaries, especially the outer ones, definitely barred. 



Description. — Length 215-235 mm. Usually gray, rarely in rufous 

 phase; projecting feathers, the "horns," on either side of the crown, 

 rather short but prominent. Gray phase: adult (sexes alike), above 

 somewhat brownish gray, with longitudinal shaft lines of black, and 

 small indistinct crosslines and mottling of pale cinnamon-buff; a 

 prominent line of white on the outer side of the scapulars, and 

 another narrower one on the outer greater wing coverts ; primaries 

 banded widely with cinnamon and dull black, mottled with buff; tail 

 banded narrowly with cinnamon-buff, bordered with dull black ; face 



mm? 



Figure 22. — Choliba screech owl, buhito rayado, Otus choliba. 



light gray, barred narrowly with fuscous-black; facial disk with a 

 black posterior border; forehead and a superciliary line gray (indis- 

 tinct in some individuals) ; under surface light gray, with prominent 

 shaft lines and narrow crosslines of black to fuscous-black; feathered 

 tarsi buff, barred more or less with brownish black ; under wing coverts 

 buff, barred with brownish black ; under surface of wing dull brown- 

 ish black, barred broadly and definitely on inner and outer webs with 

 cinnamon-buff. 



Rufous phase: rufous brown on upper surface, with the usual 

 black lines ; face, and occasionally the entire under surface, rufescent. 



Downy young, grayish white on hatching, changing immediately to 

 a second stage in which the slightly grayer down is banded narrowly 

 with fuscous. 



Uncertainty in earlier work as to the characters that identify the 



