i^9'-l Brewster, JDcscriptiovs of Ne-.v Birch. 141 



Habitat. — Fort Walla Walla, Washington ; Hellgatc, Mon- 

 tana ; antl probal)ly the entire intermediate region, and northward 

 into the interior of British Columbia. 



Megascops asio saturatus, new subspecies. Puget Sound 

 ScuEKCFi Owl. 



SuBSPEC. CHAR. — Similar to M. a. keiiuicolti hui smaller, the general 

 coloring darker and less tawny, the face and under parts with much more 

 white. Dichromatic. 



Gray fliase. Female ad. (No. 25,846, collection of William Brewster, 

 Victoria, British Columbia, February 18, 1S89; from E. H. Forbush.). — 

 Upper parts nearly uniform dark slate-gray with the slightest, possible 

 leddish tinge, the plumage everywhere so thickly streaked, barred, antl 

 vermiculated with dull black as to obscure the gi-ound color, the markings, 

 particularly the shaft stripes, coarsest and most regular on the crown and 

 nape but nowhere sufficiently contrasted with the general coloring to be 

 at all conspicuous : ear-tufts, nape, and sides of neck with concealed pale 

 rusty or fulvous white disposed in irregular stripes or blotches on both 

 webs of the feathers; a broad, dull black baron each side of the head 

 extending from the base of the ear-tufts over the tips of the auriculars 

 nearly to the throat; outer webs of outer scapulars and soine of the outer 

 wing-coverts fulvous white, the former tipped and narrowly edged with 

 black; secondaries and inner webs of primaries crossed by six or seven 

 bars of grayish ash tinged slightly with fulvous, these bars so pale and 

 indistinct on the primaries as to be nearly obsolete; outer webs of prim- 

 aries with quadrate spots of dull rusty white with dark brown centres; tail 

 with faint and irregular transverse bars of ashy white tinged with rusty; 

 anterior half of orbital region plain clove-brown; superciliary line and 

 lores white, the feathers dusky or blackish towards their tips ; remainder 

 of facial disc ashy white with numerous fine, transverse markings of clove- 

 brown ; under parts clear ashy white, tinged with rusty on the jugulum, 

 flanks, and legs, very faintly with fulvous on the breast, the plumage 

 everywhere, including the abdomen and under tail-coverts, with coarse, 

 sharply defined, longitudinal stripes and fine, wavy, transverse bars of 

 black, the former very broad and conspicuous on the breast; under wing- 

 coverts fulvous, thickly but obscurely barred with clove-brown ; feather- 

 ing of legs mottled and barred with reddish brown. Wing, 6.87; tail, 

 3.65; tarsus, 1.50; length of bill from nostril, .52 inch. 



Ferruginous phase. Male ad. (No. 25,845, collection of William Brews- 

 ter, Victoria, British Columbia, November 24, 188S; E. H. Forbush). — 

 Markings closely similar to those of the bird just described but with the 

 ground color of the entire upper parts tinged with tawny or rusty cinna- 

 mon, bringing out the black streaks and bars in sharper relief; cheeks, 

 jugulum, breast and sides with more rusty than in the female, but the 

 ground color of the superciliary region, lores, chin and entire abdomen. 



