iSSS.] Brewster oh Ncxv Birds from Mexico and tlic BaJiauias. 8/ 



trifling variation in coloring. The lightest bird among them 

 is darker than my darkest example of C.f. viosccc. 



At Mr. Frazar's request I have named this bird after Mr. 

 Viosca, the U. S. Consul at La Paz, who has been most kind 

 and helpful in furthering the success of Mr. Frazar's explorations. 



Megascops aspersus.* new species. — Spotted Screech Owl. 



Sp. Char. — Sides of hiead conspicuously fringed with black bristles, 

 longest on auriculars and superciliary rufts ; tarsi densely feathered on all 

 sides to the toes, the latter sparsely feathered above; throat and sides of 

 neck pale rusty chestnut ; remainder of plumage coarsely spotted and 

 barred almost everywhere with dull black. 



? ad. (No. 14125, collection of W. Brewster, El Carmen, Chihuahua, 

 Mexico, May6. 18S4; R- R- McLeod). Sides of head from the lores to 

 the auriculars both above and below the eye, but not including the 'ear- 

 tufts,' with a fringe of fine, black, hair-like bristles formed by the elongation 

 of the shafts and denuded terminal barbs of the feathers, these bristles 

 longest on the auriculars and superciliarj' ruft's where they proiect half an 

 inch or more. General coloring above dark brownish drab, below gravish 

 white, the feathers of the top of head, hind neck, back, scapulars, wing 

 coverts, and most of the underpai-ts coarsely streaked longitudinally, and 

 broadly barred transverselj', with dull black; throat, tibise, and a narrow 

 space on the side of the neck, pale rusty chestnut barred with dark brown 

 or dull black; anal region and lower half of tarsi immaculate; under 

 tail-coverts with a few small spots of brown ; forehead, lores, and anterior 

 half of the auriculars finely barred with dark brown; under wing-coverts 

 pinkish buff", a few of the feathers with fine dark streaks; rump nearlv 

 immaculate; tail crossed by about six narrow, rusty white bars fairly well 

 defined on all the feathers excepting the central pair where thej' are only 

 faintly indicated; scapulars with large, irregularly ovate, brownish white 

 spots confined chiefly to the outer webs of the feathers; primaries and 

 secondaries pale clove-brown, the primaries coarsely spotted or 'notched' 

 on their outer webs with grayish, more or less rusty, white, these spots 

 darker and duller on the inner three feathers ; outer webs of secondaries 

 similarly, but more obscurely spotted; inner webs of both primaries and 

 secondaries with large bufty white spots separated from the shafts of all 

 the feathers by a space of plain clove-brown, and on the primaries con- 

 spicuous only on the basal portion of each quill, although faintly indicated 

 on its terminal half also. Length,! 7.50; extent,! 16.25; wing, t;.66; 

 tail, 2. 89; tarsus, 1. 17; middle toe, .67 ; culmen from nostril, .40; greatest 

 depth of bill, .41 : length of longest feathers of ear tufts, i.oo. 



Young in first flumagc ( 5 No. 14126, collection W. Brewster, El 

 Carmen, Aug. 22, 1SS4; R. R. McLeod). General coloring paler than 

 in the adult, the ground color above pinkish drab, that of the underparts 

 muddy white, the coarse black streaks and bars wanting, but most of the 



* Aspersus = spotted. 



t Collector's measurements from fresh specimen. 



