THREE REMARKABLE NEW SPECIES OF BIRDS 

 FROM SANTO DOMINGO 



By J. H. RILEY 



Dr. W. L. Abbott, the well-known traveller and collector, durinsT^ 

 the past summer and fall paid a visit to Santo Domingo, the Spanish- 

 speaking portion of the Island of Haiti. He visited the highlands of 

 the interior where few zoological collectors have ever penetrated and 

 amongst the last shipment of birds received from this region the 

 three following prove to be apparently undescribed. One is a white- 

 winged crossbill, another is a song sparrow of the genus Brachyspica, 

 both belonging to genera that have never been reported from the 

 West Indies, while the owl is closely related to a species found in 

 Cuba and on the mainland, from which, however, it is very distinct. 



These three birds, without question, are the most remarkable dis- 

 coveries in West Indian ornithology in recent years. 



ASIO NOCTIPETENS, sp. nov. 



Type, U. S. National Museum, No. 249475, J* adult, Constanza, 

 4,000 feet, Santo Domingo, September 23, 1916. Collected by Dr. 

 W. L. Abbott. 



Similar to Asio sty gins ( Wagler) but much darker, with the lighter 

 markings much restricted everywhere above and entirely disappear- 

 ing on the interscapular region. Wing, 300; tail, 161 ; culmen from 

 cere, 21 mm. 



Remarks: Below, the differences are not so well-marked, but 

 still the dark markings are darker than in Asio sfygius, while the dif- 

 ferences above are obvious. The type is the only specimen. 



LOXIA MEGAPLAGA, sp. nov. 



Type, U. S. National Museum, No. 249615, ^ adult. El Rio, 4,000 

 feet, Santo Domingo, October 7, 1916. Collected by Dr. W. L. 

 Abbott. 



Similar to Lo.via bifasciata ( Brehm) but with a heavier and stouter 

 bill and shorter wing. 



Description: Head dusky, the feathers tipped with dull scarlet 

 red and sulphine yellow ; back dull black, the feathers washed with 



Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 66, No. 15 



