638 The American Naturalist. [July, 
EVOLUTION AND DICHROMATISM IN THE GENUS 
MEGASCOPS. 
By E. M. HASBROUCK. 
(Continued. from page 533, Vol. XXVII.) 
The accompanying tables show the colors of the young pro- 
duced by parents of known character as to plumage.' It will 
be readily seen that red birds breed either all red, all gray, or 
both; that reds and grays breed either all red, all gray, or 
both ; while gray birds, as previously stated, invariably breed 
irue^ Now to one at all familiar with the theory of reversion 
to ancestral characters, the perfect harmony between the two 
theories is selfevident. Take now, the pigeons, which are 
descended from a parent of bluish color, with certain bars and 
other markings, and when any breed assumes by simple vari- 
ation a bluish tint, these bars and other marks invariably 
reappear; call thetwo color phases of the common screech-owl 
species; call the various breeds of pigeons, some of which have 
bred true for centuries, species; compare these and how 
exactly parallel are the two cases. 
Lastly: the widely accepted theory of the transmission of 
acquired characters comes to my assistance. Take, for exam- 
ple, the great similarity at certain periods between the plum- 
ages of the various ducks, which would indicate that the com- 
mon ancestor of the duck family was of a dusky color, or, 
better still, an example of to-day. The young of the genus 
Merula has the breast spotted as in the genus Turdus, while 
that of the adult is plain. Now, one of the grounds upon 
which this genus is based is, that were the adults spotted, 
instead of belonging to the genus Merula, they would belong - 
! The question mark in the third column signifies that the number of young were 
not given. 
. # Considerable uncertainty was manifested by some contributors as to what consti- 
tuted a young, gray bird, they giving the gray down as such, and, while great care has 
been taken to avoid all such data, it may be well to call attention to possible error. 
