118 LITTLE COLUMBIAN OWL. 



shooting cranes along the banks of the river. The specimen is somewhat 

 mutilated, in consequence of having lost one wing by the ball. The stomach 

 contained nearly the whole body of a Ruby-crowned Wren, with a few small 

 remnants of beetles and worms. It was a male; its irides bright yellow; 

 and it measured 7 inches in length. The tail is exactly 3 inches long, and 

 extends 2\ inches beyond the closed wings." 



I have seen several specimens of this Owl in the Edinburgh Museum, 

 which had also been sent from Fort Vancouver by Dr. Merideth Gaird- 

 ner. 



Cheveche chevechoide, Strix passerinoides, Temm. PL Col. 344. 



Little Columbian Owl, Strix passerinoides, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. v. p. 271. 



Male. 



Tail of moderate length, straight, slightly rounded; wings rather short, 

 much rounded, fourth quill longest, outer three abruptly cut out on the inner 

 web, the first with its filaments thickened but not recurvate, those of the 

 second and third also thickened toward the end. General colour of the 

 upper parts olivaceous brown; the head with numerous small, roundish, 

 yellowish-white spots margined with dusky, of which there are two on each 

 feather; the rest of the upper parts marked with larger, angular, whitish 

 spots; the quills generally with three small and five large white spots on the 

 outer and inner webs; the tail barred with transversely oblong white spots, 

 of which there are seven pairs on the middle feathers. Facial disk brown, 

 spotted with white; throat white, then a transverse brown band, succeeded 

 by white; the lower parts white, with longitudinal brownish-black streaks; 

 the sides brown, faintly spotted with paler. Young with the upper parts 

 rufous, the head with fewer and smaller white spots; those on the lower part 

 of the hind neck very large; the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts unspotted; 

 the wings marked as in the adult, but with pale red spots in the outer, and 

 reddish-white on the inner webs; the tail with only five bands of spots; the 

 lower parts white, longitudinally streaked with light red, of which colour 

 are the sides of the body and neck, and a band across the throat. 



Male, 7; wing 3f|. 



