Brewster on Kennicotf s Owl and some of its Allies. 27 
ON KENNICOTT’S OWL AND SOME OF ITS ALLIES, 
WITH A DESCRIPTION OF A PROPOSED NEW 
RACE. 
BY WILLIAM BREWSTER. 
Since the elate of its first description in 1867, Kennicott’s Owl 
( Scops asio kennicotti ) has remained a very rare bird, and orni- 
thologists have gained but little additional knowledge regarding 
either its distribution or variations of color. The prominent 
characters of Elliot’s type were its large size and tawny or umber- 
brown plumage, and as the few specimens subsequently recog- 
nized have closely resembled it, this peculiar coloring has come 
to be regarded as constant and diagnostic. But not long since 
Capt. Bendire sent me a Screech Owl from Fort Walla Walla, 
Washington Territory, which, # although equaling kennicotti in 
size and resembling it in some other respects, was colored more 
nearly like S. asio in its gray dress. Being unable to reconcile the 
peculiarities of this bird with any of the standard descriptions, I 
set to work, at Capt. Bendire’s request, to bring together a suffic- 
iently large number of specimens to determine its identity or re- 
lationship. In this I have at length succeeded, thanks to the kind 
assistance of Professor Baird and Mr. Ridgway of the National 
Museum, Mr. Allen of the Cambridge Museum of Comparative 
Zoology, Capt. Charles Bendire, U. S. A., Mr. H. W. Henshaw, 
Mr. Purdie and several other friends, all of whom have been most 
generous in placing their material at my disposal. 
The series now before me comprises about fifty specimens, 
and includes representatives of all the known North American 
forms of Scops except S . flammeolus . Among the number are 
two typical kennicotti , a fine suite of asio, illustrating its numerous 
variations of plumage, and no less than nine examples referable to 
the large gray form already mentioned as coming from Fort 
Walla Walla. A comparison of the latter with asio and kenni- 
cotti shows that while a few of the grayer specimens bear a strong 
superficial resemblance to asio in its corresponding condition, the 
evidence of the series as a whole points to a stronger affinity 
