A History of North American Birds, Land Birds. Volume 3. Robert Ridgway

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СКАЧАТЬ States; Lower and Southern California.

      Localities. (?) Oaxaca (Scl. 1858, 296); (?) Guatemala (Scl. Ibis, I, 220); (?) Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1856, 330).

      While the Scops maccalli is without doubt to be distinguished from S. asio, its being specifically distinct is not a matter of so much certainty; with a simple statement of the differences between the two, I shall leave the value of these differences to the appreciation of each one, according to his own fancy. The species is represented in the collection by but four specimens, two adult and two young. I have not seen the red plumage as described by Cassin.

      The characters of this race, as given in the diagnosis, appear to be really constant; and there is not a specimen in the series of those from the west which may not readily be referred to one or the other.

      The gray adult maccalli differs from that of asio in the much finer mottling of the general plumage; the medial black stripes of the feathers above being more sharply defined, and more distinct from the transverse zigzags. Below, the transverse dark bars are much finer, and nearer together. The face, neck, and jugulum more finely and uniformly barred. The white scapular spots have not the black border seen in asio. The size is smaller.

      The young of maccalli differs from that of asio in much finer bars above, the dusky rather prevailing; below, also, the bars are finer and nearer together.

      It is not necessary to compare this bird with any other than the S. asio, since it is not at all related to choliba, or any other southern species.

      Scops maccalli is entirely distinct from the S. trichopsis, Wagler, notwithstanding the statement in the Ibis, for April, 1872 (p. 6), that “the name” is “really synonymous with S. trichopsis of Wagler, the bird being quite distinct from S. asio, as has been pointed out elsewhere.” (P. Z. S. 1868, p. 57.)

Scops asio, var. kennicotti, ElliotKENNICOTT’S OWL

      Scops kennicotti, Elliot, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. 1867, p. 69; Illust. Am. Birds, pl. xi.—Baird, Trans. Chicago Acad. Sc. I, ii, 311, pl. xxvii, 1869.—Dall & Bannister, Tr. Chic. Ac. I, 1869, 273.—Gray, Hand List, I, 47, 1869.—Elliot, Illust. Birds Am. I, xxvii.—Finsch, Abh. Nat. III, 28.—Scops asio, var. kennicotti, (Ridgway) Coues, Key, 1872, 203. ? Scops asio, Coop. & Suck. P. R. R. Rept. XII, ii, 155, 1860 (all citations from northwest coast).

      Sp. Char. Adult (♂, 59,847, Sitka, Alaska, March, 1866; Ferd. Bischoff. Elliott’s type). Above umber-brown, with a reddish cast; feathers confusedly mottled transversely with dusky, and showing rounded spots of rufous, most conspicuous on the nape; each feather with a conspicuous medial broad ragged stripe of black, these stripes most conspicuous on the forehead and scapulars; outer webs of scapulars light rufous, bordered terminally with black. Wings of a more grayish cast than the back, but similarly variegated; lower feathers of the middle and secondary wing-coverts, each with a large oval pale rufous spot, covering most of the lower web. Secondaries crossed by six narrow obscure bands of pale rufous; primaries with seven somewhat rounded, quadrate spots of the same on the outer webs, forming as many transverse series; each light spot with a central dusky mottling. Tail more finely and confusedly mottled than the wings; the bands, though present, are so obsolete as to be scarcely traceable, and so irregular or badly defined as to be of uncertain number. The ear-tufts are black and rusty, the former along the shafts, and in transverse spots; on the outer webs the black predominates, on the inner the rusty.

      The lores and basal half of the frontal bristles are white, the terminal half abruptly black; eyebrows about equally blackish and paler, the former bordering the feathers; eye surrounded by dark snuff-brown; cheeks and ear-coverts pale rusty, transversely barred with deeper rusty; facial circle not well defined, black. Chin and lores only white.

      Ground-color of the lower parts dilute-rusty, becoming white on the flanks; each feather of the throat, jugulum, breast, sides, and flanks with a broad medial stripe of black, this throwing off very narrow, rather distant, bars to the edge; the spaces between these bars are alternately paler and deeper dilute-rusty; the black marks are broadest on the sides of the breast, where they have an external deep rusty suffusion; the abdomen medially, and the anal region, are scarcely maculate rusty-white; the lower tail-coverts have each a central cuneate longitudinal stripe of black. Tibiæ, tarsi, and lining of the wing, plain deep rusty. Wing-formula, 3=4, 5–2, 6–1=9. Wing, 7.40; tail, 4.00; culmen, .65; tarsus, 1.50; middle toe, .80.

      No. 59,068 (Idaho; Dr. Whitehead) is considerably darker than the type, the ground-color above approaching to snuff-brown; it differs, however, in no other respect, as regards coloration; the size, however (as would be expected), is considerably smaller, measuring as follows: Wing, 6.80; tail, 3.50; culmen, .60; tarsus, 1.20; middle toe, .80. Wing-formula the same as in type.

      Hab. Northwestern coast of North America, from Columbia River, northward; Idaho (Dr. Whitehead).

      No. 4,530 (Washington Territory; Dr. Geo. Suckley) is just intermediate in all respects between typical kennicotti and asio, being referrible to either with equal propriety, though perhaps inclining most to the former.

      This well-marked form is, according to recognized laws, properly to be regarded as only an extremely dark northwestern form of Scops asio. There is no deviation from the specific pattern of coloration, the difference being merely in the tints; while in this it corresponds in every way with other species as modified in the northwest coast region; the somewhat greater size, too, merely results from its more northern habitat.

      The only characters which we find in kennicotti which cannot be recognized in asio are the smaller, more quadrate, and more rufous spots on the primaries, and more obsolete bands on the tail; but this is merely the consequence of the greater extension of the brown markings, thus necessarily contrasting the lighter spots. In these respects only does the Washington Territory specimen differ from the two typical examples before us, having the larger, more whitish, spots on primaries, and more distinct tail-bands, of asio.

      Scops asio, var. kennicotti.

      The Scops kennicotti must, however, be recognized as a well-marked geographical race, and, not taking into consideration any natural laws which influence changes in species, it would be very proper to recognize the validity of the present bird. If, however, the rule of which we speak will apply to others, as indeed it does to a majority of the birds of the region inhabited by the Scops kennicotti, the extreme conditions of some species of which are even more widely different than in the present instance, and which have been referred to their lighter representatives in consequence of the applicability of this law, we cannot possibly do otherwise with it.

      In general appearance, size, and proportions, as well as in pattern and tints of coloration, except in their details, there is a wonderfully close resemblance in this race of S. asio to the S. semitorques, Schlegel, of Japan. Indeed, it is probable that the latter is also a mere geographical form of the same species. The only tangible points of difference are that in semitorques the jugulum is distinctly white centrally, there is a quite well-defined lighter nuchal band, with a more indistinct occipital one above it, and the pencillings on the lower parts are more delicate. The size and proportions are essentially the same; the shades of color are identical, while the markings differ only in minute detail, their pattern being essentially the same. In kennicotti the light nuchal collars are indicated, though they do not approach the distinctness shown by them in semitorques. Should they be considered as races of one species (S. asio), their differential characters may be expressed as follows:—

      Var. semitorques.26 A well-defined nuchal collar, of mottled pale ochraceous; jugulum СКАЧАТЬ