Page:Condor19(2).djvu/44

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THE CONDOR Vol. XlX this one is probably reposing in some eastern collection, and, if this note comes to the attention of any one who bought skins from him as far back as that, I will esteem it a great favor if he will look the matter up and let me know. Very likely this specimen is stowed away in some corner of the Biological Survey or National Museum in Washing- ton, D.C. Meanwhile this is an interesting matter open to all observers, and this com- ing spring will be a fine time to commence special investigations upon the question. The Black Mountain mentioned is rather an isolated peak, probably about 2000 feet high, three or four miles north of Point Reyes Station, mostly bare on the ?,southerly and east- erly sides and on tOp.?JosE?H MXILLIXm), San Francisco, January 17, 1917. The Arctic Horned Owl in the State of Washingtom--Positive records of the Arc- tic Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus subarcticus) for Washington are so scarce that it would seem advisable to mention all new ones in which the identity is certain. It may, consequently, be of interest to know that a very fine one was recently in the possession of Mr. Fred Edwards, of Tacoma. It was taken at Skagit, Skagit County, Washington, and on account of its large size I should say that it is in all probability a female. Mr. Edwards is uncertain regarding the exact date of its capture, but thinks it was in the winter of 1902. The horned owls taken during the winter in Washington show such a wide range of variation that some might easily pass for subarcticus were it not for the more or less distinct bars of dusky on the feathers of the legs and feet. The specimen under discus- sion is one of the lightest in color that I have ever seen, the markings being paler than in many specimens of the Snowy Owl.--J. H. BOWLES, Tacoma, Washington, January 17, t917. An Invasion of California by the Eastern Goshawk.--Three Goshawks were re- ceived at the California Museum of Vertebrate Zoology during the past autumn, each of which I have identified as belonging to the subspecies Astur atricapillus atricapillus, thus adding a new name to the state list of birds. The data accompanying these speci- mens is as follows: No. 27135, Mus. Vert. Zoo1.; male adult; Jamestown, Tuolumne County, California; N?vember 21, 1916; shot by Frank Barnbauer; presented to the Museum by Geo. W. Smith; prepared by H. S. Swarth (orig. no. 10524); weight, 793 grams; total length, 542 millimeters; spread of wings, 1600 mm.; iris, red; feet and tarsus, pale greenish yellow; bill, from cere forward, black, basally bluish; cere, pale greenish yellow (colors recorded at least two days after the death of the bird); stomach empty. No. 27136, Mus. Vert. Zoo1.; male adult; Laytonville, Mendocino County, Califor- nia; November 22, 1916; secured and presented to the Museum by Frank C. Clarke; pre- pared by H. S. Swarth (orig. no. 10526); weight, 905.5 grams; total length, 566 mm.; iris, red; stomach contained remains of a chicken about one-third grown (the hawk was shot as it dashed among poultry). No. 27603, Mus. Vert. Zool.; male adult; 2 miles south of Palo Verde, Imperial County, California; November 2, 1916; collected by Leo Wiley (orig. no. 241). The characters of the above three birds, by which they uniformly differ from the ordinary Western Goshawk (Astur atricapillus striatulus), lie in the general paleness of coloration. This, analyzed, consists in ashy tone of upper surface (dorsum slate-gray [of Ridgway, 1912], instead of dark neutral gray, as in striatulus); markings every- where beneath, paler and narrower; streaks on throat and chest, mere lines, not more than one millimeter in width, mostly less (one to three millimeters wide in striatulus); flanks notably more lightly barred than in striatulus. In all these characters the three birds designated agree accurately with specimens from the eastern United States and from northeastern Alaska, these latter being unquestionable atricapillus. All other birds examined from California, Oregon and southeastern Alaska are striatulus. Reports of the capture or observation of fully twenty-five other Goshawks have come in this winter from various localities from one end of the state to the other. Where age has been specified, only adults are concerned; no birds-of-the-year have come to no- tice. The present announcement, of the occurrence of atricapillus in California, at once brings doubt as to the subspecies involved in all previous winter records of Goshawks for the state. Striatulus is evidently the breeding bird in the Canadian zone within the