182 
HORNED OWLS, ETC. 
3'. Wing averaging over 6.40. 
4. Dichromatic, red or brownish gray. Eastern United States. 
asio, p. 182. 
4'. Not dichromatic, always gray. 
5. Back brownish gray. Coast region of California. 
bendirei, p. 183. 
5'. Back clearer gray. 
Plumage light gray, narrowly and sharply streaked below 
with black. Mexico to southern Arizona and New Mexico. 
cineraceus, p. 183. 
6\ Plumage dark gray, heavily streaked with black. South¬ 
ern Colorado, northern Arizona, and New Mexico. 
aikeni, p. 184. 
1'. Toes entirely naked to base. 
2. Throat with conspicuous band of ochraceous, lower parts lightly 
mottled . idahoensis, p. 185. 
2'. Throat without distinct band of ochraceous, lower parts more heavily 
mottled. flammeola, p. 184. 
373. Megascops asio (Linn.). Screech Owl. 
Dichromatic; gray or reddish brown, without regard to age, sex, or 
season; ear tufts conspicuous; toes thinly 
feathered or bristly on top. Adults : gray 
phase: upper parts dull brownish gray, with 
shaft streaks and fine mottlings of dusky; 
edge of scapulars and row of spots on edge 
of wing white or creamy ; lower parts gray¬ 
ish white, with heavy shaft streaks and 
light cross - lines of black. Bed phase: 
upper parts clear rich rufous, with a trace 
of black shaft lines and with white scap¬ 
ular streaks and spots on edge of wing ; 
lower parts streaked and mottled with ru¬ 
fous and white, and with faint black shaft 
streaks. Young: plumage barred or banded 
with grayish or whitish, without longitu¬ 
dinal markings. Length : 7.50-10.00, wing 
6.00-7.10, tail 3.05-3.50. 
Distribution. — Temperate eastern North 
America, south to Georgia; west to about 
the 100° meridian. 
From Biological^ Survey^u. s. Dept, of Nest. — A hollow in a tree or old wood- 
Fte 247* pecker hole, 3 to 40 feet from the ground. 
Eggs : usually 4 or 5, white. 
Food. — Mammals, birds, reptiles, batrachians, fish, crustaceans, and 
insects. 
‘ ‘ The common screech owl is distributed throughout the whole of 
the United States and the southern portions of the British Provinces. 
It is separable into several geographic races as is usual in species 
having such an extensive distribution. . . . Their food consists of 
a great variety of animal life. ... At nightfall they begin their 
rounds, inspecting the vicinity of farmhouses, barns, and corncribs, 
making trips through the orchards and nurseries, gliding silently 
