Jxily, 1914 
PUBLICATIONS REVIEWED 
189 
mains as held to by the A. O. U. Committee. 
But Ridgway remarks (foot-note, page 279) 
that “if 8. nuclialis is to be considered as 
merely a sub-species of <8. varius then, most 
certainly, must 8. ruher also.” He inclines 
to the belief that all three are distinct spe- 
cies, the occasional intermediates being 
viewed as hybrids, much as in the case of 
the flickers. While 8. v. daggetti is synony- 
mized under 8. ruber ruber, a foot-note 
(page 286) is indicative of Ridgway’s gen- 
eral attitude of open-mindedness. He says: 
“Mr. Swarth [Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool., x, 1912, 
))age 35] seems to have made out a good case 
in favor of restriction of the name ruber to 
the northern form instead of the southern 
one. Unfortunately it is now too late for 
me to reopen the question.” 
"Western North America, east to and in- 
cluding Rocky Mountains: north to northern 
Alaska . . . ; south to western Mexico ...” 
is the range assigned to the Western Belted 
Kingfisher, 8treptoceryle alcyon caiirina 
(Grinnell). 
The Frosted Poor-will of the A. O. U. 
Check-list is thrown out by Ridgwa 5 q who 
lists the appertaining references (to PhaJ- 
aenoptilus nuttalli nitidus) under P. n. nut- 
talU. 
Our Barn Owl becomes Tyto perlata pra- 
tincola, this name applying to the species 
clear across North America and south to 
Nicaragua. "I am unable to discover con- 
stant differences of coloration between spe- 
cimens from the eastern and western United 
States or between these and those from Mex- 
ico” (foot-note, page 606). Tyto perlata per- 
lata is South American. T. albus of Europe 
is considered specifically distinct (page 601). 
The supposed northwestern race of Saw- 
whet Owl, Nyctala acadica scotaea Osgood, 
is suppressed, this name appearing in the sy 
nonymy of Cryptoglaux acadica (page 633). 
Mr. Ridgway is unable “to make out any 
geographic variation in this species except 
a slight average difference in the hue of the 
brown of the upper and under parts, which is 
reddest in examples from the Pacific coast 
district”, more grayish brown in those from 
the Rocky Mountains, and intermediate in 
those from the Atlantic side. These differ- 
ences, as shown by present material, are not 
“sufficiently marked and constant to war- 
rant subspecific division”. 
The Screech Owl of the Colorado Valley, 
named by Swarth Otus asio gihnani. is con- 
sidered (foot-note, page 702) inseparable 
from the longer known OUis asio cineraceus 
(Ridgway), which ranges through southern 
Arizona. A new subspecies is described (page 
700), Otus asio brewsteri, from the coast 
region of Oregon. 
Of particular interest is Mr. Ridgway’s 
conclusion, after adequate study of the case, 
that the Flammulated Screech Owl, Otus 
flammeolus (Kaup), presents absolutely no 
geographic variation. In other words no 
grounds whatever are found for recognizing 
a race Otus asio idahoensis (Merriam), 
which name has been allotted prominent 
place in western literature for over*twenty 
years. 
The Pigmy Owls along the Pacific coast 
are recognized as of three subspecies: Glau- 
cidium gnoma calif ornicimi (Sclater), of the 
San Diegan district, the Sierra Nevada and 
the Cascades: G. g. grhinelli Ridgway (here 
newly named), of the humid coast belt from 
Monterey County to the mainland of British 
Columbia: and G. g. stoartlii Grinnell, of 
Vancouver Island. The name vigilante, of 
Grinnell, becomes a synonym of californi- 
cum. owing to the discovery by Ridgway that 
Sclater’s type, still extant in the Philadel- 
phia Academy, belongs to the interior and 
southern form. 
Mr. Ridgway finds that the Elf Owl pre- 
sents three geographic races: Micropallas 
ivhitneyi ivhitneyi (Cooper), of southeastern 
California, southern Arizona and southwest- 
ern New Mexico: M. to. sanfordi. of southern 
Lower California: and M. w. idoneus of 
southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. 
The two latter forms are here newly describ- 
ed and named. — .1. Gkinxell. 
A MoxogRxVpii of the Genus Ciiordeiles 
SWAINSON, TYPE OF A NeW FaJIIEY OF GOAT- 
SUCKERS. By Harry C. Ocerholser. [=Unit- 
ed States National Museiim, Bull. 86, April 
6, 1914, pp. i-viii, 1-123, 6 plates.] 
In this study of the nighthawks Mr. Ober- 
holser has many changes to suggest in the 
generally accepted treatment of the group: 
and his researches in the genus Ciiordeiles 
have also incidentally resulted in important 
conclusions regarding certain others of the 
goatsuckers. The nighthawks, comprising 
the genus Ciiordeiles, are purely American 
in their distribution, while two of the three 
recognized species are distributed over much 
of that portion of America covered by the 
A. O. IT. Check-List. They form an appar- 
ently well defined and circumscribed group 
of birds, and for various reasons afford an 
excellent subject for monographic treatment, 
there having been obvious necessity for such 
a study. Of the difficulties attending the 
work, one of the greatest was the need of a 
prodigious amount of material, while from 
the nature of the birds the average collector 
