FAMILY STRIGIDAE 1 63 



now in the British Museum (Natural History), and find that it agrees 

 with Bubo virginianus mesembrinus as defined by Webster and Orr 

 (Auk, 1958, pp. 140-141). It is definitely dark above, especially on 

 the crown. The measurements are as follows: wing 333, tail 191, 

 culmen from cere 28.2 mm. 



In my own field experience in Panama I have seen the species only 

 once. On Isla Rancheria, off the northern end of Isla Coiba, on Febru- 

 ary 4, 1956, I found a great horned owl resting in a large-limbed tree 

 at the border of a swamp. I had a clear view of it as I came up a 

 slippery clay bank where treacherous footing caused me to miss the 

 snap shot that was my only opportunity to secure the bird. The owl 

 flew off up the forested slope toward the higher part of the island 

 where we could not find it again. 



PULSATRIX PERSPICILLATA (Latham): 

 Spectacled Owl; Buho de Anteojos 



Figure 25 



Strix perspicillata Latham, Index Orn., vol. 1, 1790, p. 58. (Cayenne.) 



A large owl, without feather horns ; sooty brown to black above, 

 with a broad dark band across the light-colored breast. 



Description. — Length 450-500 mm. Adult (sexes alike), above 

 sooty brown ; primaries and secondaries barred indistinctly with 

 grayish brown ; tail also barred with grayish brown and tipped nar- 

 rowly with grayish white ; feathers at base of bill, a prominent super- 

 ciliary, and throat white; face, chin, and a broad band across breast 

 sooty black to sooty brown; rest of under surface, including under 

 wing coverts, tarsus, and toes buffy white to buff; some individuals 

 with a few narrow dark bars on breast and sides. 



Juvenile, face and chin sooty black to sooty brown; body down 

 buffy white. Wings and tail develop like those of adult, but wing 

 coverts and back in first stage are buffy white, barred with brownish 

 gray. 



As a species these owls range from southern Mexico through Cen- 

 tral America, Colombia, Trinidad, and Venezuela to Bolivia, north- 

 western Argentina, and southern Brazil. Pulsatrix perspicillata in 

 series throughout the entire range shows indication of the two color 

 phases common among owls, one faintly blacker on the upper surface, 

 the other lighter. The difference, which is slight, is masked by the 

 general dark pigmentation that prevails except on part of the lower 

 surface. Several subspecies have been described on slight color dif- 

 ferences and faint distinctions in size. The populations of Central 



