04 NORTH AMERICAN lURDS. 



VL'isily with dusk}', ami slmwiiij,' iiumdi'il siidi.s of rufuiis, most poiispipiioiis on tlio 

 imj)(.' I filch I'ciilliur wilh a (•iiiis|)ii;uoii.s lucdial lnoail i'ii;_';^i'il stripf of liliick, llicsc striiiu.s 

 most eons|iifuous dm tlio loiuhuail aiiil scainilai-s; milui' welit! ol' .sca|)uhuvs lifjht I'ufons, 

 Ijonli'i'i'il tcriiiinally wilh lihiuk. \Viiif;>i of a iiiin-c friayish cast than tlio hack, but 

 similarly vaiicirak'd ; lowor Ceatlit'i's of iho middlu and secondary wiii{»-('ovorts, each 

 with a largo oval jialc rufous spot, covi'iiiiy most of ihi! lowor wub. Sccondarios crossed 

 by six narrow olisciirc bands of piilc! rufous; priniarics with seven soiiiowhat idiiuiled, 

 iiuadrate sjiots of th(' same on llie outer webs, Ibrmiu;,' as many transverse series ; caeli 

 li^lit spot with a eeulial dusky mollliie^'. Tail more finely and eonfiisecily mollle(l than 

 ihe wilifi's; the bamls, ihon^h proeiit, are so olisolele as to be sc/areely traceable, and so 

 irregular or batlly tleiinod as to lie of uncertain number. The ear-tufls are black and 

 rusty, the former aloiiir the shal'ls, and in transverse spots; on Ihe outer webs the black 

 [iredominates, on the inner the rusty. 



The lores and basal half of the frontal bristles are white, the terminal half alirnptly 

 black; eyebrows about eipially blackish and paler, the I'ormer borderini,' the leathers; 

 eye surrounded by dark snull-binwii ; cheeks and ear-coverts ])ale rusty, transversely 

 barred wilh deeper rusly ; facial circle not well delined, black. Chin ami lores only whih'. 



Groimd-eolor of the lower parts diliile-rusly, becomiiif!' while on the Hanks; <'aeh 

 feather of the throat, juu'uliim, breast, sides, and Hanks with a broad medial sliipe of 

 black, this tlirowinj,' olf \-ery narrow, rather distant, bars to the edge; (be .spaces lie- 

 Iwi '11 these bars arc alternately paler and deeper dilute-rusty ; the black marks are 

 broadest on the sides of the breast, where they have an external deep rusty sun'usion ; 

 the abdomen medially, and the anal region, are scarcely maculate rusty-white ; the lower 

 tail-coverts have each a central cuueate longitudinal stripe of black. Tibiie, tarsi, and 

 lining of the wing, jjlaiii deep rusty. Wiug-formiila, 3 = 4, o-'-', (i - 1 = !). Wing, 

 7.10; tail, l.OO; culinen, .(J.j ; tarsus, l.oO; middle toe, .80. 



Xo. 59,t(G8 (Idaho; Dr. Whitehead) is considerably darker than the tyi)e, the ground- 

 color above approaching to snufl'-browu: it dillers, however, in no other respect, as 

 regards coloration; the size, however (as would be expecteil), is eonsicleralily smaller, 

 measuring as follows; Wing, (!.80; tail, 3.G0 ; ciiimen, .00; tarsus, l.'JO; middle toe, 

 .80. Wing-formula the same as in tviu'. 



II.Mi. North western coast of North America, from Columbia River, northward ; Idaho 

 (Dr. Whitehead). 



No. 4,'>:U) (Wasliingtoii Territory; Dr. Geo. .Suckley) is just intermediate 

 ill ill! res])ects liotween ty])iciil hiuiicvHi and asio, lieiiijf referriblo to citlier 

 witli Clonal jn'opric'ty, thoiioh perliaiis inclining nio.st to the Ibriner. 



This wcU-iiiarked form is, accindiiig to recoonizcd laws, jjrojjorly to be 

 regarded as fiiily an extremely dark iiortluvestern form of Scojis asio. There 

 is no deviation from the specific pattern of coloration, the dilferenee being 

 merely in the tints ; while in this it corresponds in every way with other 

 species as modiiied in the northwest coast region ; tiie .somewhat greater 

 size, too, merely results from its more northern htiliitat. 



The only characters which we find in hrnnicotti which cannot be recog- 

 nized in asio are tlie smaller, more tpiadrate, and move rufous sjiots on the 

 primaries, and more oljsolete bands on tiie tail; but this is merely the con- 

 setpience of the greater extension of the lirowii markings, thus necessarily 

 contracting the lighter spots. In these respects only does the Washington 

 Territory specimen differ from the two typicid examples before us, having 



