304 OTUS VULGAEIS VAE. WILSONIANUS 



e, enano. 



(,'?) Scope m-accallii, ScL., P. Z. S. 1858^296 (Oaxaca).— Scl., Ibis, 1859, 220 (Guatemala). 

 Scops asio var. enano; Lawr., MSS.— B. B. & E., N. A. B. iii, 1874, 48. 



Sah. — North America at large. Var. Tcennicottii is the large, dark, northern form, from - _ 

 Alaska, &c. Var. maccallii is a small, pale, southern form, from the southwestern bor- J S 

 der and southward. Var. floriOanus, from Georgia, Florida (and Cuba ?). Var. ^^"■'^"i a* c-^ 

 from Mexico and Guatemala.* aOJ ~( 



This little Owl does not appear to have been noticed by either of the 

 E2;peditions, as we Had no specimens in the collection. It inhabits, 

 however, the wooded tracts of the Missouri region, and is abundant in 

 some parts, as' in Kansas. 



Without going into the history of the long controversy respecting the 

 "Eed" and "Mottled" Owls — which would involve scores of quota- 

 tionst— it will be sufficient to state, that not only are these two birds 

 identical, as iudeed has been admitted by most observers since Wilson, 

 but that, moreover, the plumages are purely fortuitous, and character- 

 istic of neither sex, age, nor season. The same rufescent phase occurs 

 in other species of Owls — notably, among ours, in the little Glaucidium 

 ferrugineum, which I recently introduced to our fauna (Key, 206) — and 

 is apparently analogous to the melanotic condition of many Hawks. 



OTUS VULGARIS var. WILSONIANUS,(Less.) Allen. 

 American Ion g-earedOwl. 



a. vulgaris. 



Strix otns, Linn., Syst. Nat. i, 1766, 132; and of early authors generally. 



Bubo otus, S.4.VIG., Descr. Egypte, i, 109. 



Asio otus, Less., Man. Orn. i, 116. 



ijlula otus, Macgil., Eap. B. Br. 403.' 



JEgoHus otus, Keys & Blas., Wirb. Eur. 1840, 32. 



" Otus soloniensis, Gm., Syst. Nat. i, 1788, 203" {Gray). 



" Otus albicolUs et italicus, Daud., Tr. Orn. ii, 213" {Siriekland). 



Otus sylvestris, arboreus et gracilis, Brehm, V. D. i, 121, 122, 123. 



Otus vulgaris, Flbm., Brit. An. 56 ; and of many authors. 



Otus europceus, Steph., Gen. Zool. xiii, pt. ii, 1826, 57. 



Otus communis. Less., Tr. Orn. 1831, 110. 



Otus aurita, Mont., Om. Diet. ed. Eennie, 262. 



Otus asio, Leach, Syst. Cat. 1816, 11. 



b. wilsonianus. 



(?) strix americana, Gm., Syst. Nat. i, 1788, 288. 



Otus americanus, Bp., Comp. List, 1838, 7 ; Consp. i, 1850, 50.— Kaup, Mon. Strig. Cent. 



Orn. 1852, 113 ; Tr. Z. S. iv, 1859, 233.— Maxim., J. f. O. vi, 1858, 25.— Allen, 



Pr. Ess. Inst, iv, 1864, 51. 

 Strix peregrinator Bartr., Trav. in Fla. 1791, 289. 

 Asio peregrinator, Strickl., Om. Syn. 1855, 207. 

 Strix otus, WiLB., vi, 1812, 73, pi. 51, f. 3.— Bp., Syn. 1828, 37.— NuTT., Man. i, 1832, 130.— 



AUD., Orn. Biog. iv, 1835, 573, pi. 83.— Peab., Eep. Orn. Mass. 1839, 68. 

 Strix (Asia) otus, Sw. & Rich., F. B. A. ii, 1831, 72. 

 Vlula otus, Jam., ed. Wils. i, 104. 



* Another small species of Scops, occurring over our southern border, is the following : 

 Scops flammbola, Liclit. 



Scops flammeola, Licht., Nomen. Mus. Berol. 7.— Kaup, Monog. Tr. Z. S. iv, 1859, 226.— 



SCHL., M. P.-B. Oti, p. 27.— ScL, P. Z. S. 1858, 96.— Scl. & Salv., P. Z. S. 1868, 



57 ; Exot. Orn. vi, 1868, 99, pi. 50.— Elliot, B. N. A. i, pi. 28.— Coop., B. Cal. i, 



1870, 422.— COUES, Key, 1872, 203.— B. B. & E., N. A. B, iii, 1874, 58. 



It was found breedilig at Fort Crook, California, by the late Captain John Feilner, 



United States Army. 



t Those who wish to examine the subject may refer to the following among other 

 articles : Bp., Journ. Phila. Acad, iii, 1824, 357. — Michnee, ibid, vii, 1834, 53. — Hoy, Pr. 

 Phila. Acad, vi, 1853, 306; and Trans. Wise. Agrio. Soo. ii (1852), 1853, 344.— Cabot, 

 Journ. Bost. Soc. ii, 1838, 126.— Allen, Am. Nat. ii, 1S68, 327 ; BuU. M. C. Z. ii, 1871, 338. 



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