GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEYS WEST OF 100TH MERIDIAN. 313 
ing it, of the change soon to result in the variety ruber, in which these parts are red. 
Two males, however, taken in the Warner Mountains, Northern California, show no 
such tendency, but, on the contrary, are not distinguishable from Rocky Mountain 
specimens. 
S. rarius ruber (Gnr.). Red-breasted Woodpecker. 
Somewhat to my surprise I was aide to obtain no evidence that this variety sum¬ 
mers along the eastern slope, and am compelled to believe that it is ouly found here 
in the character of a fall and winter visitor. 
S. thyroideus (Cass.). Brown-headed Woodpecker. 
Of rather frequent occurrence all through the mountains. 
Asyndesmus Coues. 
A. torqnatus (Wils.). Lewis Woodpecker. 
Nowhere in its wide range is this species more abundant than at the base of the 
eastern slope, through Nevada, California, and Oregon. It was seen at The Dalles dur¬ 
ing the last of October, and according to Suckley it remains here during the winter 
Colaptes Swainson. 
C. auratus mexicanm (Sw.). Red-shafted Flicker. 
An abundant and widely-distributed species. The birds of the eastern slope appear 
to be the typical rnexicanus, and I have never seen a specimen from this region show¬ 
ing intermediate characters. In the Sacramento Valley and about Sau Francisco such 
specimens are comparatively common, and the manuer and degree in which individuals 
assume the characters of either race vary indefinitely. 
STRIGID.E—Owls. 
Strix Linn sens. 
S. ftammea americana (And.). American Barn Owl. 
Though a very common inhabitant of California, especially in the southern portion, 
and extending, according to Cooper, as high as the Columbia River, this owl appears 
to confine its range, so far as this region is concerned, to the country west of the 
Sierras, and it does not appear in any of the sectional lists east of that range between 
Kansas on the east and Arizona on the south. That it does occur on the east side of 
the Sierras I obtained ample proof during the past season. Near the Madeline Plains 
in Eastern California I found scattered feathers of barn owls, indicating that they in¬ 
habited the thickets along the streams. At Camp Bidwell it seemed to be a tolerably 
common species, and on several occasions individuals were started up as they were 
roosting among the tangled willows. This was late in September. It also appears to 
be of at least occasional occurrence in Western Nevada, and Mr. H. G. Parker has in¬ 
formation of the capture of a specimen or specimens near Carson. 
It is one of the most strictly nocturnal of the family, and as its diurnal retreats are 
usually of the most inaccessible character, the bird readily eludes casual observation. 
Hence it is likely to prove to be more widely diffused in the interior province than we 
are at present aware. 
Otus Cuvier. 
0. vulgaris wilsonianus (Less.). Long-eared Owl. 
Numerous in the thickets of the lowlauds, where it is resident throughout the year. 
0. br achy otus (Stev.). Short-eared Owl. 
This owl was found to be common in the sedgy marshes about Warner Lake, Oregon, 
and doubtless inhabits similar localities throughout Eastern California and Nevada. 
Bubo Dumeril. 
B. virginianus sub arcticus (Sw.). Western Great Horned Owl. 
Often heard in the mountains, where it is resident. Two individuals of the many 
seen were obtained in the Cascade Mountains. They represent the common interior 
type. 
3 H 
