96 BANGS — SHORT-EARED OWLS. Boe 
I shall speak later, the short-eared owl is confined to the open 
regions, south of the forest, in temperate southern South 
America. The form of southern South America is thus widely 
separated from the range of the circumpolar Asio flammeus 
flammeus (Pontoppidan) by an enormous extent of country. 
In general appearance the bird of southern South America is 
very similar to Asio flammeus flammeus, but there are slight 
differences that seem to be constant. These, together with its 
isolated position, make me favor recognizing it as a valid sub- 
species, as 
Asio flammeus breviauris (Schlegel). 
Otus breviauris Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, II, no. 11, 4, 1863. Based 
on Otus breviauris Licht., Nomencl. Av., Mus. Berol., 6, 1854, Brazil, 
nomen nudum. 
Distribution. — The whole of southern South America, north, roughly 
speaking, to southern Brazil, southern Bolivia and southern Peru; Mas-a- 
Tierra Island. 
Characters. — Very similar to A. flammeus flammeus, — differing in hav- 
ing a larger bill, though otherwise of about the same size; in color, averaging 
slightly paler above, that is, the dark centres of the feathers are narrower 
and the pale edges wider; under wing-coverts less often spotted with dusky, 
— usually immaculate, — and, when spotted, the spots smaller and fewer. 
Size. — Irrespective of sex.1 Wing, 307 (295-321); tail, 148.5 (140-160) ; 
culmen from cere, 19.6 (18.5-21) mm. Based on eleven adults. 
Five adult birds taken by Beck in Mas-a-Tierra Island are, so 
far as I can see, quite like those from the mainland, and they 
show the same variation in size. 
In the Falkland Islands a smaller and otherwise slightly dif- 
ferent form occurs, which I take great pleasure in naming for 
Dr. Leonard C. Sanford, to whose enthusiasm is due the monu- 
mental collection made by R. H. Beck along the shores and 
among the islands of southern South America. 
1 There is very little if any difference in size in the sexes of the short-eared owl; in the 
large series of A. flammeus flammeus I have measured in this connection the female did 
not average larger than the male, although many of the larger examples were females. 
