Part 4

Assuming the preceding conclusions to be granted, the gray condition of _kennicotti_ may be characterized as follows:—

=Scops asio kennicotti.= Gray phase; adult (♀, no. 6456 author’s collection, Fort Walla Walla, W. T., October 22, 1881, Capt. Bendire). Ground-color above brownish-ash, darkest on the head, palest on the wings, with confused, often nearly obsolete transverse mottling and shaft-stripes of dull black, broadest and most numerous on the crown. Outer webs of scapulars and alula-coverts cream-color, the former tipped and narrowly margined with black. Secondaries and inner webs of primaries crossed by from six to seven bars of pale reddish-brown. Outer webs of primaries with broad, quadrate spots of brownish-white. Tail regularly but faintly barred with light reddish-brown. Feathers of the sides of head and neck thickly but minutely mottled with dusky upon a lighter ground. Lores nearly pure white. A somewhat broken facial-circle of black or chestnut spots and blotches. Beneath ashy-white, lightest on the abdomen, with numerous fine, regular, transverse bars of black and coarse shaft-stripes of the same color; the only immaculate space being that along the middle of the abdomen. Lining of wings and concealed silky plumage of sides under the wings, pale ochraceous. Tarsi, dull chestnut. Wing, 7.10; culmen, .61; tarsus, 1.77; tail, 4.10; middle toe, .75; ear-tufts, 1.45.

The above description is of a specimen representing the extreme grayish phase so far as shown by the series before me. Six others from the same locality vary a good deal in color and markings, some of them being very dark with coarse shaft-stripes, both above and below, while one or two have the dorsal surface nearly like that of _asio_ in its corresponding condition. In all, however, the plumage of the under parts is somewhat different from that of _asio_, the transverse bars being usually much finer and more regular and the ground-color ashy instead of clear white. These differences seem to be most strongly marked in the purely gray specimens which otherwise afford the nearest approaches to _asio_.

Among the darker birds are three which may be considered as about intermediate between the extreme brown and gray phases. The first, from Mr. Henshaw’s collection (Fort Walla Walla, Nov. 7, 1880, Capt. Bendire) has the dorsal plumage dark brown with an umber cast, while the tibiæ, lining of wings, outer webs of scapulars, and numerous pairs of rounded spots forming a band or collar across the nape, are tawny-ochraceous of nearly as deep a shade as in typical brown birds. The dark shaft-stripes in this specimen are broader and blacker than in any of the others and the usual ashy cast beneath is replaced by an ochraceous one. The remaining two birds are similarly characterized but to a less marked degree. All three combine the gray and brown coloring of the respective extreme phases, precisely as do many of the eastern specimens before me, the gray and red conditions of _S. asio_.

The Portland specimen already mentioned, although in some respects an intermediate, is on the whole nearer the gray than the brown condition. Its general coloring is essentially similar to that of Mr. Henshaw’s bird, but the ground shade above is darker and the scapular spots are confined to the edges of two or three of the outer feathers, while the ochraceous wash beneath occurs only on the sides, lining of the wings, and tibiæ, the ground-color of the under parts being otherwise clear ashy-white.

An unusually large female from Hellgate, Montana (No. 18,299, Nat. Mus.), which Mr. Ridgway very naturally treated as _asio_ in the “Birds of North America” (Vol. III, p. 50), agrees closely with Capt. Bendire’s specimens and with them must now be referred to _kennicotti_.

In the light of the present evidence it becomes necessary to rearrange the typical characters of this Owl. I accordingly offer the following diagnosis:—

=Scops asio kennicotti.= Wing, 6.40 to 7.60. Dichromatic, assuming either a gray or a tawny brown condition. Gray phase similar to that of asio, but with the plumage beneath thickly barred and streaked along the median line. Brown phase characterized by a general dusky-umber or tawny-ochraceous coloring unlike that of any other North American form.[12]

The following table includes the most essential measurements of all the specimens of _kennicotti_ which I have examined, together with some taken at second hand, of Elliot’s type of the race.

_Gray and Intermediate._ _Wing._ _Tail._ 6457, W. B. ♂ ad. Ft. Walla Nov. 20, 1881. 7.50 4.07 Walla, W.T. 6458, W. B. ♂ ad. „ „ Apr. 25, 1881. 7.07 4.05 82,330, Nat. Mus. ♂ ad. „ „ Dec. 22, 1880. 7.06 4.25 6459, W. B. ♂ juv. John Day Aug. 6, 1881. 6.92 3.65 River. Ore. 30,624, C. Mus. ♂ ad. Ft. Walla Feb. 12, 1881. 7.00 4.22 Walla. W.T. H. W. H. ♀ ad. „ „ Nov. 7, 1880. 7.05 _wanting_ 6456, W. B. ♀ ad. „ „ Oct. 22, 1881. 7.10 4.10 18,299, Nat. Mus. ♂ ad. Hellgate, 7.60 4.10 Mon. 6466, W. B. ad. Portland, 6.40 3.82 Oregon.

_Brown._

4.530, Nat. Mus. Washington 6.80 4.07 Ter. 59,068, Nat. Mus. Idaho. 6.67 3.65 59,847, Nat. Mus. ♂ ad. Sitka, March, 1866. 7.40 4.00 Alaska.

During the course of the preceding investigation I had occasion to compare a large number of Eastern specimens of _Scops asio_ with some California examples from Nicasio and Alameda County. Somewhat to my surprise, I detected several apparently constant differences which, taken in connection with the pretty definitely settled fact that the California bird is not, like asio, subject to dichromatism, seem to me to warrant the varietal separation of the two. I accordingly propose a new race as follows:—

=Scops asio bendirei=,[13] var. nov. CALIFORNIA SCREECH OWL.

CH. SP. Similis _S._ asioni, sed auribus brevioribus; colore subtus magis cinerario, transversis lineis tenuioribus, pallidioribus, ac in medio haud interruptis. Nulla rubra conditione cognita.

Adult ♀ (No. 1,546, author’s collection, Nicasio, California, April 24, 1877, C. A. Allen). Above essentially similar to _asio_ in its gray dress. Beneath ashy-white, every where thickly barred and streaked with black; the transverse bars being fine, numerous and regular, the shaft-stripes coarse and generally distributed from the throat to the crissum, both markings occurring as thickly on the median line of the breast and abdomen as along their sides. Wing, 6.20; tail, 3.30; tarsus, 1.50; culmen, .60; ear-tufts, 1.15.

Another adult from the same locality (♀, May 18, 1878, Coll. H. A. Purdie), measures: wing, 6.22; tail, 3.18; ear-tufts, 1.05: while seven unsexed specimens from Alameda county furnish the following extremes: wing, 6.01–6.52; tail, 3.22–3.72, ear-tufts, 1.05–1.25.

The above detailed characters, so far as my series goes, are sufficient to distinguish the California specimens from any gray examples of _asio_ taken in the Eastern States. The chief difference is in the ground-color and markings of the plumage beneath. In _asio_ the central line of the breast and abdomen is nearly always immaculate, while there is frequently a broad, entirely unspotted gular space: in _bendirei_ these parts are as thickly barred and streaked as are the sides, while the ashy tinge of the entire lower surface and the much finer character of the transverse pencilling gives the plumage a clouded appearance which, although difficult of description, is very characteristic. The ear-tufts, also, are usually shorter than those of _S. asio_.

Among the nine examples before me there is remarkably little individual variation, much less in fact than with any equal number of _asio_ which I have ever examined. The Alameda County specimens as a rule are rather more finely and faintly barred than the Nicasio ones and the ground-color beneath is of a slightly different shade, inclining more to clayey than ashy-white. In one bird the under surface is decidedly dull clay-color, which is so generally and evenly distributed that there is positively no approach to clear white even on the throat, lores, forehead or abdomen. But the essential characters already given are so well maintained on the whole that the description of the one chosen as the type will apply nearly as well to them all. This uniformity is doubtless largely owing to the absence in this race of any tendency to dichromatism, for much of the variation among the dichromatic ones can be traced to the combination in varying degrees of the colors of both phases, purely colored birds of either style being, at least in some sections, of comparatively rare occurrence. It is of course to be expected that larger suites of specimens will furnish occasional aberrant ones some of which may approach _asio_; but, so far as the present material is concerned, the tendency of variation is rather towards _kennicotti_ and “_tricopsis_.” Indeed, as will be seen by comparing my diagnoses, the general coloring and markings of _bendirei_ are so nearly like those of _kennicotti_ in its extreme gray phase, that were it not for their wide difference in size it might be difficult to separate some of the specimens. That _bendirei_ grades into the larger bird at the point where their respective habitats meet is shown by a specimen (No. 16,027, Nat. Mus.) from Fort Crook, Northern California, which is almost exactly intermediate in size, although more nearly like _kennicotti_ in color and markings. As to our bird of the Southwest border, I believe that Mr. Ridgway is still undecided whether it really represents the _tricopsis_ of Wagler or not, but he writes me that however this may turn out, he is now convinced that it intergrades with the form found over California at large and must hence be reduced to a variety of _Scops asio_. After a careful comparison of specimens I can unhesitatingly endorse this opinion, my Arizona examples of “_tricopsis_” differing from some of the more faintly barred _bendirei_ only in the purer ash and sharper streaking of their dorsal plumage.

Save in cases where this fresh material has thrown new light on old data, I have deemed it unnecessary to go over any of the ground trodden by Mr. Ridgway in his elaborate and invaluable monograph of the genus _Scops_,[14] but the bearing of some of the present testimony has proved so far reaching that I venture, in concluding, to suggest the following rearrangement of the North American Screech Owls belonging to the _S. asio_ group.

_Dichromatic: erythrismal phase bright rufous._

_Scops asio._ Habitat, United States north of the Gulf States and east of the Rocky Mountains.

_Scops asio floridanus._ Habitat, Florida and Southern Georgia.

_Scops asio maccalli._ Habitat, Highlands of Guatemala, Eastern Mexico, and Valley of the Lower Rio Grande in Texas.

_Dichromatic: erythrismal phase tawny or reddish-brown._

_Scops asio kennicotti._ Habitat, Northwest Coast from Sitka to Oregon and eastward across Washington Territory into Idaho and Montana.

_Non-dichromatic: always gray in color._[15]

_Scops asio bendirei._ Habitat, Coast region of California.

_Scops asio tricopsis?_ Habitat, Western Mexico and the extreme southwestern border of the United States.

_Scops asio maxwellæ._ Habitat, Mountains of Colorado.

A RECONNOISSANCE IN SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS.

BY NATHAN CLIFFORD BROWN.

The village of Boerne in Southwestern Texas, with its environing country, was the field of my ornithological labors between December 21, 1879 and April 4, 1880. Boerne is situated about thirty miles northwest of San Antonio, and less than that distance westerly from New Braunfels, where Messrs. Werner and Ricksecker made their collection, a few years ago.[16] It lies in a country of hills and “flats,” scantily watered and largely unproductive, beyond which timber and general vegetation rapidly disappear, as the westward-bound traveller nears the desolation of the Great Plains. Live-oak grows in scattering groves, the postoak in more compact clusters, and cedar occurs in small “brakes” of some density. There are also, along the creek to which the village owes its existence, two or three small oases of deciduous trees admixed with vines, no one of them, perhaps, an acre in extent. The mesquite, which is so common on the prairies to the south and east, is not seen, but is replaced by a small variety of live-oak growing in the form of _chaparral_. Throughout my stay in it, the country had a very inhospitable and dreary aspect, on account of the almost total lack of grass of any kind; and by its absence the number of the local birds is of course materially diminished.

In presenting a list of the birds observed in this locality, I wish to call especial attention to the curious admixture of geographical races found here. Among the species which are subject to climatic variation, several are represented by two distinct varieties and with them confused and indeterminable intermediate forms. In others but one constant form is found. And in a third class the bird occurs in a varying, transitional phase of plumage which, however, occasionally becomes typical of some described race.

1. =Hylocichla unalascæ= (_Gm._) _Ridg._ DWARF THRUSH.—Uncommon resident. Not heard to sing. Several of my specimens very closely approach the variety _auduboni_. I saw nothing of the eastern _pallasi_, which I have received from Mr. Geo. H. Ragsdale, of Gainesville.

2. =Merula migratoria propinqua=, _Ridg._ WESTERN ROBIN.—Irregularly abundant.

3. =Mimus polyglottus= (_Linn._) _Boie._ MOCKINGBIRD.—Rare resident.

4. =Sialia sialis= (_Linn._) _Haldem._ BLUEBIRD.—Comparatively common during the winter. All of my specimens were in most beautiful plumage. Not one male in a dozen showed the slightest brownish edging to the feathers of the back. I was particularly struck with this in view of the fact that almost every individual in a large series collected in Alabama, in the winter of 1878, exhibited more or less of this brownish edging.

5. =Sialia arctica=, _Swains._ ROCKY MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD.—Abundant winter visitor. Generally in dull plumage.

6. =Polioptila cærulea= (_Linn._) _Scl._ BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER.—Apparently a common summer resident. Arrived March 8.

7. =Regulus calendula= (_Linn._) _Licht._ RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET.—Abundant up to the last week in March.

8. =Regulus satrapa=, _Licht._ GOLDEN-CRESTED KINGLET.—Not common. Last seen about March 22.

9. =Lophophanes atrocristatus=, _Cassin_. BLACK-CRESTED TIT.—Very abundant resident.

10. =Parus carolinensis=, _Aud._ CAROLINA CHICKADEE.—Uncommon during my stay. Usually seen in pairs.

11. =Certhia familiaris rufa= (_Bartr._) _Ridg._ BROWN CREEPER.—Rare. Only two individuals observed: one Jan. 16, the other Jan. 29.

12. =Salpinctes obsoletus= (_Say_) _Cab._ ROCK WREN.—I obtained a single female on March 4, in a cañon of the Cibalo Creek. It was very shy and was secured with difficulty.

13. =Catherpes mexicanus conspersus=, _Ridg._ WHITE-THROATED WREN.—About three pairs were resident in the cañon above referred to. They lurked almost constantly in the interstices of the rocks, and had it not been for their delightful song would many times have entirely escaped observation.

14. =Thryothorus ludovicianus= (_Gm._) _Bp._ CAROLINA WREN.—Uncommon resident.

15. =Thryomanes bewicki leucogaster=, _Baird._ TEXAN BEWICK’S WREN.—Very common resident. Sang throughout the winter.

16. =Anthus ludovicianus= (_Gm._) _Licht._ TITLARK.—Abundant winter visitor. Became uncommon towards the last of March.

17. =Neocorys spraguei= (_Aud._) _Scl._ MISSOURI SKYLARK.—Mr. Sennett having detected this species at Galveston,[17] it was, of course, to have been expected in the present locality. Since, however, I observed no examples until the 16th of March, it is to be inferred that the bird’s winter habitat lies much farther to the south than has been supposed. I met with specimens up to within a few days of my departure, but never in abundance and, I believe, all upon one “flat” containing about twenty acres.

While according to Dr. Coues[18] the manners and habits of this bird and the Titlark agree so closely during the breeding season, they were quite unlike at the time of my own observations. At Boerne the flight of the Skylark was peculiarly characteristic, being made slowly, at a height of but a few inches from the ground and with the regular, undulating movement of the Goldfinch. When several birds were associated together—as was usually the case—they were invariably much scattered about upon the ground, and in flight never closed ranks sufficiently to form anything like a flock. The Titlarks, on the contrary, as I have also found them at the North, were birds of erratic and more rapid flight, frequently ascending to a considerable height and always preserving the semblance of a flock, however straggling their order.

18. =Mniotilta varia= (_Linn._) _Vieill._ BLACK-AND-WHITE CREEPER.—Rather common after March 13.

19. =Helminthophaga ruficapilla= (_Wils._) _Bd._ NASHVILLE WARBLER.—Two specimens,—March 30 and April 1.

20. =Helminthophaga celata= (_Say_) _Bd._ ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER.—Arrived the first week in March and thereafter was the most abundant of the Warblers. One of my specimens is a partial albino, the first, I believe, that has been detected in this peculiar phase of plumage.

21. =Parula americana= (_Linn._) _Bp._ BLUE YELLOW-BACK.—Rare migrant. Arrived March 20 in full song.

22. =Dendrœca coronata= (_Linn._) _Gray._ YELLOW-RUMP.—An abundant winter visitor, seen throughout my stay.

23. =Dendrœca blackburnæ= (_Gm._) _Bd._ BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER.—A single male taken March 31.

24. =Dendrœca dominica albilora=, _Bd._ WHITE-BROWED YELLOW-THROAT.—Uncommon migrant, first seen on March 19. The song of this variety is very different from that of its eastern analogue, and is a close reproduction of the Field Sparrow’s familiar chant, without his _decrescendo_ termination.

25. =Dendrœca chrysoparia=, _Scl. and Salv._ GOLDEN-CHEEKED WARBLER.—Previous to the capture of my Boerne specimens, there were only about seven[19] skins of this elegant Warbler in existence. It was a rare bird at Boerne, and my own series was not brought up to a total of seven without special exertion. The first individual made his appearance on March 12. Within forty-eight hours from that time, under the influence of a biting norther, the mercury sank to 29° and hovered about that figure for several days. So that in his semi-tropical habitat this little bird is sometimes called upon to endure pretty severe weather. The remaining examples were taken at intervals up to March 24, after which I saw none. I found them usually in cedar brakes; never more than a few rods distant from them. They were sometimes very shy, at other times easily approached, but almost always pursued their various avocations rather silently. I did not hear the song at all, until by this I was attracted to the last specimen that I procured. The notes were an exact counterpart of the song of _Dendrœca discolor_, as I heard it in Alabama, and, indeed, for the utterances of that bird I mistook them.

By the few examples of this species hitherto existing in cabinets, the plumage of the adult male has been represented with much green on the back. Four of my five males conform to this pattern of coloration, but the fifth is in a much more beautiful dress, undoubtedly showing the male bird in full perfection. In this specimen the back is deep black, glossy and continuous. Upon close examination, faint and irregular traces of greenish are perceptible, but in much too slight a degree to materially affect the groundwork. This high state of plumage greatly enhances the bird’s beauty and renders its wearer one of the handsomest of the _Sylvicolidæ_.

26. =Dendrœca virens= (_Gm._) _Bd._ BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER.—An uncommon migrant, first seen on March 13. Found in hardwood growth and never in company with the preceding species. On March 25 I heard a male singing the plaintive song so familiar in northern woods.

27. =Siurus motacilla= (_Vieill._) _Coues._ LARGE-BILLED WATER THRUSH.—A single male taken, March 25, in one of the “oases” of the creek.

28. =Lanivireo flavifrons= (_Vieill._) _Bd._ YELLOW-THROATED VIREO.—A pair taken on March 25.

29. =Vireo atricapillus=, _Woodh._ BLACK-CAPPED VIREO.—One specimen, March 27. Could I have remained a few days later, other specimens would have undoubtedly been detected.

30. =Vireo noveboracensis= (_Gm._) _Bp._ WHITE-EYED VIREO.—Common summer resident, first seen on March 13.

31. =Lanius ludovicianus excubitorides= (_Sw._) _Coues._ WHITE-RUMPED SHRIKE.—Of irregular and uncommon occurrence. I obtained one specimen of _ludovicianus_ proper.

32. =Ampelis cedrorum= (_Vieill._) _Bd._ CEDAR BIRD.—Very irregular in its occurrence, and never common.

33. =Progne subis= (_Linn._) _Bd._ PURPLE MARTIN.—Common summer resident. Arrived from the south, Feb. 17.

34. =Petrochelidon lunifrons= (_Say_) _Lawr._ EAVE SWALLOW.—Common summer resident. Arrived about March 20. The cañon, to which I have several times alluded, contained many nests of this bird.

35. =Hirundo erythrogastra=, _Bodd._ BARN SWALLOW.—Common summer resident. A single individual seen on March 4, but no others noticed until the 10th of the month when there was a general arrival.

36. =Stelgidopteryx serripennis= (_Aud._) _Bd._ ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW.—But two observed,—March 3 and 4.

37. =Pyranga æstiva= (_Linn._) _Vieill._ SUMMER REDBIRD.—One specimen taken in April.

38. =Astragalinus tristis= (_Linn._) _Cab._ GOLDFINCH.—Rather common winter visitant.

39. =Centrophanes ornatus= (_Towns._) _Cab._ CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR.—This and the following species apparently do not winter here. I first met with them in the second week of February. They were often associated together, sometimes with the addition of a few Horned Larks. The present species, though not common, was the more numerous and lingered later, being taken up to March 2.

40. =Rhynchophanes maccowni= (_Lawr._) _Bd._ MCCOWN’S LONGSPUR.—Uncommon migrant, taken between Feb. 11 and 21.

41. =Passerculus sandwichensis alaudinus= (_Bp._) _Ridg._ WESTERN SAVANNA SPARROW.—Common, throughout my stay, in cultivated fields.

42. =Poœcetes gramineus confinis=, _Bd._ WESTERN GRASS FINCH.—Abundant in cultivated fields and less common elsewhere, throughout my stay. Several specimens were taken in plumage intermediate between this and the eastern form; and one which can hardly be referred to anything but _gramineus_ proper.

43. =Coturniculus passerinus= (_Wils._) _Bp._ YELLOW-WINGED SPARROW.—A single specimen, Feb. 14.

44. =Chondestes grammica= (_Say_) _Bp._ LARK FINCH.—Rare during the winter. A general arrival on March 11, after which it was common.

45. =Zonotrichia querula= (_Nutt._) _Gamb._ HARRIS’S SPARROW.—Excepting two specimens taken by Mr. Dresser near San Antonio, this species has no Texas record. I found it very abundant during the winter, and in smaller numbers up to within a few days of my departure.

46. =Zonotrichia leucophrys= (_Forst._) _Sw._ WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW.—Uncommon winter visitor.

47. =Zonotrichia gambeli intermedia=, _Ridg._ RIDGWAY’S SPARROW.—More common than the preceding, tarrying into March, if not later.

48. =Spizella domestica arizonæ= (_Coues_) _Ridg._ WESTERN CHIPPING SPARROW.—Rare during the winter. More numerous after Feb. 13. This form is new to the State.

49. =Spizella breweri=, _Cass._ BREWER’S SPARROW.—One specimen, March 5, amongst sterile hills. Doubtless is not rare in suitable localities, of which there are none in the immediate vicinity of the village.

50. =Spizella pusilla= (_Wils._) _Bp._ FIELD SPARROW.—Common during my stay.

51. =Junco hyemalis= (_Linn._) _Scl._ BLACK SNOWBIRD.—Common during my stay.

52. =Junco oregonus= (_Towns._) _Scl._ OREGON SNOWBIRD.—Uncommon. In addition to the specimens typical of the two Juncos here given, I acquired a series of very puzzling examples intermediate between the two. Such connecting links between the accepted species are perhaps best accounted for under Mr. Ridgway’s theory[20] of hybridization, until it can be decisively shown that they are an effect of climatic causes.

53. =Peucæa ruficeps eremœca=,[21] _Brown_. ROCK SPARROW.—This beautiful Sparrow was uncommon though apparently resident at Boerne. I found it altogether in rocky localities, usually in close proximity to the creek, but occasionally upon barren hills, a mile or more from water. It has the same shy, skulking habits which are familiar in other species of the genus, rarely taking wing, on the approach of an intruder, so long as rock, bush or weed affords a hiding place. The male’s song, which I first heard on Feb. 25, is a pretty warble, not strongly accentuated, and quite unsparrowlike,—equalling neither in sweetness nor in quality of music, the beautiful chant of _P. æstivalis_. Before becoming thoroughly familiar with it, I more than once attributed it to some unknown Warbler. The call-note is extremely fine and sharp, suggesting the _eep_ of _Ampelis cedrorum_.

54. =Melospiza fasciata= (_Gm._) _Scott_. SONG SPARROW.—Rare throughout my stay. Specimens are not typical of this form, but are not referable to any of the western varieties.[22]

55. =Melospiza lincolni= (_Aud._) _Bd._ LINCOLN’S FINCH.—Arrived March 4; common thereafter.

56. =Passerella iliaca= (_Merrem_) _Sw._ FOX SPARROW.—Two or three individuals met with. This species was detected in the valley of the Brazos by Mr. L. Kumlien,[23] but is not included in the papers of other Texas collectors.