138 ACADIAN OWL— SAW-WHET OWL— LITTLE OWL. 



istic to be in any way guided by. There consequently does not 

 appear to be the sHghtest grounds for making a distinct species 

 of the occasional form Dalhousei. 



For the purpose of comparison I append descriptions of both 

 the typical Acadian Owl and that heretofore regarded as Kirtland's 

 Owl, simply remarking that concerning the last I can myself yet 

 come to no satisfactory conclusion. 



N. ACADICA. 



Sp. Char. Small. Wings long ; tail short. Upper parts reddish brown, tinged with 

 olive ; head in front with fine lines of white, and on the back, ramp, and scapulars, with large 

 partially concealed spots of white ; face ashy-white ; throat white ; under parts ashy-white, with 

 longitudinal stripes of pale reddish-brown ; under coverts of wings and tail white ; quills brown, 

 with small spots of white on their outer edges, and large spots of the same on their inner webs ; 

 tail brown, every feather with about three pairs of spots of white. 



Bill and claws dark ; irides yellow. 



Total length, 7^4 to 10 inches ; wing, <^y, to 6 ; tail, 234 to 3 inches. 



N. KiRTLANDU, Hoy, (Cassin.) 



Sp. Char. Dorsal aspect. Prevailing tint, chocolate brown, relieved on the scapulars, 

 secondaries, and primaries by whitish spots, on the latter the spots existing on both the outer and 

 inner veins, forming three or four imperfect bars ; tail with three bars of white and faintly tipped 

 with the same color. 



Ventral aspect. Chin and tliroat chocolate-brown, changing on the abdomen, flanks and 

 inferior tail coverts to an ochrey color ; under wing coverts whitish. 



Bill black and nearly concealed by small feathers arising from its base ; irides yellow ; above 

 eyes and on each side of the bill a dirty white line, remainder of the front composed of chocolate- 

 Irown feathers, edged with dirty white, their tips causing at the edge of the front a dirty white line ; 

 feathers behind eyes darkest; tarsi feathered to extremities of toes with appressed ochrey-colored 

 feathers ; toes and claws long. 



Third primary longest, second and fourth subequal, first and seventh being about equal ; wings 

 rounded when expanded ; length from crown of head to tip of tail, "Jli inches ; alar expanse, 15 

 inches. The whole plumage is peculiarly velvety to the feel. — (Hall.) 



