Carriker : List of the Birds of Costa Rica. 475 



U. S. Nat. Museum: Retes (Cooper.) 



Bangs Collection : San Jose (Underwood). 



Carnegie Museum : Escazu, August 15, 1902, 9 (Carriker). 



There is no doubt that the common screech owl of Costa Rica is 

 this species. Costa Rican birds agree with those from Panama and 

 farther south, hence are true O. choliba, which was described from 

 Argentina, and extends northward along the Andes to Colombia, 

 Panama and Costa Rica. 



Mr. Berlepsch points out very convincingly that the name S. 



brasiliana Gmelin refers to Glaucidum ferox, and hence cannot be used 



for this species. 



172. Otus vermiculatus (Ridgway). 



Megascops vermiculatus Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., X, 1 887, 267 (Costa 



Rica). 

 Scops guatemalcB Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., II, 1875, 112, part (Veragua to 



Mexico). — SALViNand Godman, Biol. Centr.-Am., Aves, III, 1897, 20, part 



(in synonymy) 



Bangs Collection : La Candelaria, Oct. 8, 1892 (Underwood). 



The status of this species and O. guatemalce is in a very confused 

 state, and I make no attempt to try to settle it, which would be im- 

 possible without more material than I have been able to examine. In 

 Mr. Bangs's collection are two skins of an Otus, which are identical 

 with Mr. Ridgway's type of vermiculatus, one bird from La Candela- 

 ria in the gray phase, and one in the red phase from Divala, Chiriqui. 

 When carefully compared with Mr. Sharpe's description of guatemalce, 

 these birds show marked differences, apparently differing as much 

 from that bird as that one does from O. choliba choliba ; neither does 

 the figure of S. guatemalce agree with the skins of supposed vermicu- 

 latus. The only way in which this question can be definitely settled 

 is by comparison with northern material. It is quite possible that 

 there is another species of Otus which ranges in southern Mexico and 

 Guatemala, and that this bird is the true O. guatemalce. For the 

 present it seems preferable to use the name given by Mr. Ridgway to 



the southern bird. 



173. Otus cooperi (Ridgway). 



Scops cooperi RiDGWAY, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., I, 1878, 1 16 (Santa Ana, Costa 

 Rica [Zeledon] ; coll. U. S. Nat. Mus.). — Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.- 

 Am., Aves, III, 1904, 19 (Mexico to Costa Rica). 



Megascops cooperi Hasbrouck, Auk, 1893, 263 (crit.). 



Otus vs. Megascops Fourteenth Suppl. A. O. U. Check List, Auk, XXV, 1908, 

 372 (crit.). 



