'883-] Brewster on a Collection of Arizona Birds. 27 



347,, 5 ad., Tucson, May 7. Length, 20.80; extent, 53.20; wing, 

 14.50; tail, 8.50. "Ii'is vellpw; bill and claws black. The stomach con- 

 tained beetles, portions of craw-fish and a few fish scales." 



561, $ ad.. Camp Lowell, June 21. Length, 19.20; extent. 49.20; wing, 

 13.12; tail, 8. 



13S. Grlaucidium gnoma Wagl. California Pygmy Owl. — 

 The single specimen obtained by Mr. Stephens difters from my 

 California examples in absolutely lacking any tinge of umber or . 

 reddish-brown both above and below, the ground color of the 

 upper parts being dark brownish-plumbeous, and the longitudinal 

 streaks beneath nearly black. This condition, doubtless, is merely 

 an extreme one of the bird's recognized "-plumbeous" phase. 



89, $ ad., Chiricahua Mountains (10,000 feet) Maixh 24. Length, 6.50; 

 extent, 13; wing, 3.50; tail, 2.90. "Iris yellow. This bird was sitting 

 on the extreme top of a dead pine. I heard another but failed to find it. 

 The note was repeated a number of times at intervals of about once a second. 

 I saw a flock of four near P^ort Bavard, New Mexico, in 1876." 



139. Grlaucidium ferrugineum {Maxim.) Kaup. Fer- 

 RUGiNEOus Pygmy Owl. 



482, J ad.. Camp Lowell, June 3. Length, 7; extent, 13.40; wing^ 

 3.60; tail, 2.90. "Iris yellow, bill greenish-yellow; cere yellowish-green ; 

 toes dull greenish-yellow ; claws black. In some cottonwoods near camp 

 I heard this individual — or another of the same species — for several 

 consecutive mornings. His note was a loud ciick repeated several tiiries 

 as rapidly as twice each second. At each utterance the bird jerked his 

 tail and threw back his head. Occasionally a low chuck, audible for only 

 a short distance, replaced the usual call." 



140. Micrathene whitneyi {Cooper) Cozies. Whitney's 

 Pygmy Owl. — In 1872 Capt. Bendire secured several specimens 

 of this pretty little Owl near Tucson, but no one seems to have 

 since met with it in Arizona, and up to the present time it has 

 remained a rare and little-known species. This, doubtless, has 

 been chiefly owing to the fact that the Territory has been only 

 superficially explored, for Mr. Stephens found it a very common 

 bii'd in the desert region about Tucson and Camp Lowell. His 

 first specimen was obtained in the following manner. Happen- 

 ing one day to cut down the trunk of a giant cactus for the pur- 

 pose of investigating a Woodpecker's hole, he found a Whitney's 

 Owl within, dead, but apparently only just killed by the fall. 

 The hint was at once acted on with results disastrous to both 

 Owls and cactuses, for an extensive raid on the latter, continued 

 during several weeks in different localities, yielded a goodly num- 



