246 BULLETIN 15 5, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



mation from Hartert the label indicates the iris as golden yellow; 

 bill blue-black, pale towards base ; and feet dark gray, with a bluish 

 tinge. The ends of the primaries are broken so that the true wing 

 measurement may not be obtained. Ciferri secured skins at Moca 

 January 1, 1927, and July 29, 1929. 



Abbott says that he heard these owls hooting at night from the 

 forests near Constanza but though Wetmore during his residence 

 at that town listened for it regularly he was unable to hear any sound 

 that might be attributed to it. The species, familiar to inhabitants 

 under the name lechuza, was said to inhabit the dense rain-forests 

 and to come out at night to hunt in the open pine-lands. It was 

 reputed to rest in one certain place by day. Though its call was 

 known no one could definitely describe it. It was said to take 

 chickens on occasion when these were not properly housed. 



Apparently this owl was known to Vieillot in his work in Haiti as 

 under the name Bubo clannator (which refers to another owl but 

 under which the author seems to have given notes pertaining to 

 several species of eared owls) he remarks that the colonists of "Saint- 

 Domingue" knew an owl that they called houhou. 



James Bond collected a male at Pointe-a-Raquette on Gonave 

 Island, June 29, 1928, the only specimen definitely known at present 

 from Haiti. He was told that the bird was not uncommon on 

 Gonave but saw it only on this one occasion. It was said to live in 

 wooded ravines and to hunt at night in the plantations of the natives. 

 The one taken had eaten a ground-dove. 



Through the courtesy of Mr. Bond and Doctor Stone. Wetmore 

 has compared the skin from Gonave Island with the type from Con- 

 stanza and finds that it is similar though with coloration somewhat 

 browner due obviously to wear and fading of the plumage. These 

 skins are quite similar to Asio stygius, differing in general darker 

 coloration, particularly above, with the light markings more re- 

 stricted on wing coverts, scapulars, and facial disk and absent on the 

 interscapular region. After careful comparison noctipetens is 

 placed as a subspecies of stygius of which it is obviously the geo- 

 graphic representative. It will be recalled that Asio stygius siguapa 

 (d'Orbigny) is found in the adjacent island of Cuba; according to 

 Barbour 90 this differs from continental stygius in paler facial disk 

 and general grayer coloration. 



Following are measurements in millimeters of the two specimens 

 from Hispaniola : 



Type, U.S.N.M. 249,475, male, wing 291, tail 160, culmen and cere 

 34.3, tarsus 45.0. 



80 Birds of Cuba, Mem. Nuttall Ornith. Club, No. 6, June, 1923, p. 87. 



