PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 105 



Diagnosis.— Wing, 5.10-5.60 ; tail, 2.60-3.00; cnlmen, .35-.40; tar- 

 sus, .90-1.00; middle toe, .60-.68. Adult. — Above finely-mottled gray- 

 ish, the feathers with irregular blackish shaft-streaks. Outer webs of 

 scapulars more or less strongly washed with orange-rufous ou a white 

 ground ; outer webs of lower middle wing coverts white, forming con- 

 spicuous spots. Ground-color below white, the feathers with very 

 distinct mesial black streaks, from which proceed narrower transverse 

 lines, mostly toward the end of the feathers. Juv. — Above finely- mot- 

 tled grayish, but the mottlings all transverse and the shaft-streaks 

 wanting ; below coarsely and rather dimly barred with dark grayish 

 on a dull whitish ground, and with no longitudinal markings. Iris 

 umber brown ! {fide Mrs. M. A. Maxwell). 



Eemarks. — Specimens vary chiefly in the amount of rufous wash on 

 different parts of the plumage. A wash of this color is usually present 

 on the pileum, while it sometimes spreads over the face, throat, and 

 back ; Mr. Sharpe (I. c.) even mentions a specimen, from Guatemala, 

 which is entirely orange-rufous above, and strongly pervaded by the 

 same color on the lower surface, especially on the throat, where it 

 forms a large patch. He also mentions " a perfectly gray bird, on 

 which scarcely a tinge of orange coloring remains, either above or 

 below, while the whole appearance of the specimen is dingy, owing to 

 the closeness and frequency of the vermiculations." I have never seen 

 a specimen representing either of these extreme phases, all the speci- 

 mens before me (seven in number) being of average coloration. 



TJ. S. 



Ad. 



u. s. 



d" juv. 



U. S. 



Ad. 



M. A. M. 



Ad. 



S.&O. 



Ad. 



s. & o. 



Ad. 



S.& 



Ad. 



Orizaba, Mex 



Fort Crook, N. Cal 



30 miles S. of Apacho, Ariz 



Boulder, Colorado* 



Dueiias, Guatemala 



do 



Valley of Mexico 



Feb. 3, 1865 

 Aug. 23, 1860 

 Sept, 11, 1873 



Jan. — , 1863 

 , 1863 



5.10 



2. 80 

 3.00 

 2. 73 

 3.10 

 2. 90 

 2.90 

 2.75 



.40 



.90 



.65 



.35 



.92 



.60 



.35 



.95 



.60 



.40 



1. 00 



.68 



.40 



.90 



.60 



' .35 



.90 



.60 



Iris nmber brown I 



C. — Toes partly covered with hair-like, bristly feathers, the terminal 

 scutellce only completely naked. 



In this group are included only S. asio, 8. trichopsis (?), and 8. cooperi, 

 all of which belong to the country north of the Isthmus of Panama, 

 there beiug, so far as known, no South American species with hairy toes. 

 The species of this group may be distinguished as follows : — 



S. asio. — Bars of the lower surface coarse, and frequently double, 

 especially on the flanks. Hab., Whole of the United States ; south to 

 Guatemala ; north to Sitka. 



S. trichopsis f — Bars of the lower surface fine, nearer together than 

 in 8. asio, and more uniformly distributed. General aspect paler, with 

 much finer vermiculatious. 



S. cooperi. — Bars of the lower surface in form of dense, fine, zigzag 

 vermiculatious. 



