^'Is,/,' 11 ] Stone, North American Horned Owls. 153 



which are travelling at the same period from Datiria to Western 

 Europe." 



Giitke's list is copiously and interestingly annotated, the annota- 

 tions often occupying several pages, the records being in most 

 instances very fully and satisfactorily given. The nomenclature, 

 however, is antiquated, being for the most part that of Nauraann, 

 and hence dating almost from Giitke's boyhood. In the English 

 translation the equivalent modern names are given in footnotes, 

 when different from those used in the text, as is usually the case. 

 In a few instances the identifications may be open to question, 

 especially in some of the few cases where the species was only 

 observed and not actually taken. 



With all its imperfections ' Heligoland ' is a book of great 

 interest and value, Part III being a particularly useful contribu- 

 tion to the literature of ornithology. It is also a work that is 

 likely to do much harm, for it is its sensational and inaccurate 

 parts especially that find their way into the current literature of 

 the day, and particularly into magazines and books devoted to- 

 the popularization of natural history. 



A REVISION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN HORNED 



OWLS WITH DESCRIPTION OF A 



NEW SUBSPECIES. 



BY WITMER STONE. 



It is not a pleasant task to overthrow a scientific name long in 

 use, but under certain circumstances it seems unavoidable, and 

 the case of Bubo virginianus sicbarcticus (Hoy) is an instance of 

 this kind. 



Some years ago while engaged in cataloguing the Owls in the 

 collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia I 

 found the type specimen of " Bubo subarcticus Hoy." The bird 

 was mounted, and on the under side of the stand were written the 



