SCOPS. 21 



tota circa 9*0, alaa 6'0, caudse 3'4, tarsi 1"3. (Descr. exempl. ex Cobaii, Guatemala. 0. S. 2352. 

 Mus. nostr.) 

 Fortna hepatica. Supra rufa, plumis omnibus medialiter nigris, maculis scapularum et tectricum alarum albis 

 distinctis ; subtus usque ad pectus imum rufescens, abdomine albo, plumis omnibus medialiter nigris et 

 lineis nigris frequenter transfasciatis. (Descr. exempl ex Las Salinas, Guatemala. Mus. nostr.) 



Hab. Mexico, Vera Cruz (U.S. Wat. Mus.), Catemaco {Nelson & Goldman ^^), Jalapa 

 {de Oca), Zentla (Ferrari-Perez), Chimalapa, Isthmus of Tehuantepec ( W. B. 

 Richardson), Tizimin in Yucatan [G. F. Gaumer) ; Guatemala, Coban, Choctum, 

 Las Salinas {0. S. & F. D. G.), Cahabon {Skinner ^ '^) ; Costa Rica («. Frantzius^, 

 Carmiol, Gen. Lawrence ^'^), San Jose {v. Frantzius ^, Boucard ^, Cherrie ^), La 

 Palma de San Jose (Zeledon '^) ; Panama, Calobre, Chitra, Calovevora {Arce ^), 

 Lion Hill {M'Leannan ^). — W. Ecuador. 



The common bare-toed Scops Owl of Central America was long considered by us to 

 be undistinguishable from the South-American S. brasilianus, but Dr. Sharpe, when 

 writing his ' Catalogue of Owls in the British Museum,' separated it under the name 

 of S. guatemalce, and in so doing he was followed by Mr. Eidgway. The chief 

 differences defining S. guatemalce from S. brasilianus are the more confused mottling 

 of the under surface and the denser marking of the chest as compared with the 

 abdomen of the former, the middle of the feathers of the under surface being white, 

 without any of the buff colour characterizing those of ^S'. brasilianus. 



Mr. Eidgway in his first paper ^^, when he had all the Central-American specimens we 

 then possessed before him, made no distinction between the birds of Guatemala and 

 those of Costa Eica and Panama ; but he subsequently separated the latter under the 

 name of Megascops vermiculatus ^^, comparing the types from Costa Eica with S. nudipes, 

 the tarsus being bare at the extreme end, and the sides of the face without any black 

 border. The plumage he describes as much more uniform both above and below, and 

 the feathering of the legs light brownish or brownish-white, distinctly barred with 

 brown instead of plain bright ochraceous. It is, however, with S. guatemalce that the 

 Costa Eica and Panama birds must be compared ; and so far as the coloration is 

 concerned they show practically no difference, every variety of colour being present in 

 a series of the two birds, and the dark mark at the sides of the face is to be seen in some 

 southern birds though no doubt generally absent. Then as regards the extent of the 

 feathering of the extremity of the tarsus no doubt great variation exists, even in 

 Mr. Eidgway's types one has the bare part more than twice as wide as the other, and 

 amongst our series we notice even greater discrepancy. Failing, then, to discover any 

 distinctive characters we unite S. vermiculatus with S. guatemalce. "We may add that 

 Mr. Eidgway has most kindly sent us one of his types (no. 90398) for examination, and 

 we find almost its exact counterpart in a specimen from Calovevora. 



Turning now to the Mexican State of Vera Cruz, whence two species or subspecies 

 have been described, viz. S. cassini and S. marmoratus ^^, we have Mr. Eidgway's 



