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Functional Programming in JavaScript
 Functional
Programming
in JavaScript
LUIS ATENCIO

MANNING
SHELTER ISLAND
For online information and ordering of this and other Manning books, please visit
www.manning.com. The publisher offers discounts on this book when ordered in quantity.
For more information, please contact
Special Sales Department
Manning Publications Co.
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Email: [email protected]

©2016 by Manning Publications Co. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in

any form or by means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without prior written
permission of the publisher.

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are
claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in the book, and Manning
Publications was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial caps
or all caps.

Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, it is Manning’s policy to have
the books we publish printed on acid-free paper, and we exert our best efforts to that end.
Recognizing also our responsibility to conserve the resources of our planet, Manning books
are printed on paper that is at least 15 percent recycled and processed without the use of
elemental chlorine.

Manning Publications Co. Development editor: Marina Michaels

20 Baldwin Road Technical development editor: Dean Iverson
PO Box 761 Review editor: Aleksandar Dragosavljevic
Shelter Island, NY 11964 Project editor: Tiffany Taylor
Copy editor: Tiffany Taylor
Proofreader: Katie Tennant
Technical proofreader: Daniel Lamb
Typesetter: Dennis Dalinnik
Cover designer: Leslie Haimes

ISBN: 9781617292828
Printed in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 – EBM – 21 20 19 18 17 16
 To my wonderful wife, Ana.
Thank you for your unconditional support
and for being the source of passion and inspiration in my life.
 brief contents
PART 1 THINK FUNCTIONALLY ..................................................1
1 ■ Becoming functional 3
2 ■ Higher-order JavaScript 23

PART 2 GET FUNCTIONAL........................................................55

3 ■ Few data structures, many operations 57
4 ■ Toward modular, reusable code 84
5 ■ Design patterns against complexity 117

PART 3 ENHANCING YOUR FUNCTIONAL SKILLS ......................151

6 ■ Bulletproofing your code 153
7 ■ Functional optimizations 180
8 ■ Managing asynchronous events and data 205

vii
 contents
preface xv
acknowledgments xvii
about this book xix

PART 1 THINK FUNCTIONALLY .......................................1

1 Becoming functional
1.1
3
Can functional programming help? 5
1.2 What is functional programming? 5
Functional programming is declarative 7 Pure functions and
■

the problem with side effects 9 Referential transparency and

■

substitutability 13 Preserving immutable data 15

■

1.3 Benefits of functional programming 16

Encouraging the decomposition of complex tasks 16
Processing data using fluent chains 18 Reacting to the
■

complexity of asynchronous applications 19

1.4 Summary 22

ix
x CONTENTS

2 Higher-order JavaScript 23
2.1 Why JavaScript? 24
2.2 Functional vs. object-oriented programming 24
Managing the state of JavaScript objects 31 Treating objects ■

as values 32 Deep-freezing moving parts 34 Navigating

■ ■

and modifying object graphs with lenses 37

2.3 Functions 38
Functions as first-class citizens 39 Higher-order functions
■ 40
Types of function invocation 43 Function methods 44
■

2.4 Closures and scopes 45

Problems with the global scope 47 JavaScript’s function
■

scope 48 A pseudo-block scope 49 Practical applications

■ ■

of closures 50
2.5 Summary 53

PART 2 GET FUNCTIONAL ............................................55

3 Few data structures, many operations 57

3.1 Understanding your application’s control flow 58
3.2 Method chaining 59
3.3 Function chaining 60
Understanding lambda expressions 61 Transforming data ■

with _.map 62 Gathering results with _.reduce 65

■

Removing unwanted elements with _.filter 68

3.4 Reasoning about your code 70
Declarative and lazy function chains 71 ■
SQL-like data:
functions as data 75
3.5 Learning to think recursively 77
What is recursion? 77 Learning to think recursively
■
77
Recursively defined data structures 79
3.6 Summary 83

4 Toward modular, reusable code 84

4.1 Method chains vs. function pipelines 85
Chaining methods together 86 ■
Arranging functions
in a pipeline 87
 CONTENTS xi

4.2 Requirements for compatible functions 88

Type-compatible functions 88 ■ Functions and arity:
the case for tuples 89
4.3 Curried function evaluation 92
Emulating function factories 95 ■
Implementing reusable
function templates 97
4.4 Partial application and parameter binding 98
Extending the core language 100 ■
Binding into
delayed functions 101
4.5 Composing function pipelines 102
Understanding composition with HTML widgets 102
Functional composition: separating description from
evaluation 104 Composition with functional libraries 107
■

Coping with pure and impure code 109 Introducing point-free

■

programming 111
4.6 Managing control flow with functional combinators 112
Identity (I-combinator) 112 Tap (K-combinator) 113
■

Alternation (OR-combinator) 113 Sequence (S-combinator) 114

■

Fork (join) combinator 115

4.7 Summary 116

5 Design patterns against complexity 117

5.1 Shortfalls of imperative error handling 118
Error handling with try-catch 118 Reasons not to throw
■

exceptions in functional programs 119 Problems with ■

null-checking 121
5.2 Building a better solution: functors 121
Wrapping unsafe values 122 ■ Functors explained 124
5.3 Functional error handling using monads 127
Monads: from control flow to data flow 128 Error handling with
■

Maybe and Either monads 132 Interacting with external

■

resources using the IO monad 141

5.4 Monadic chains and compositions 144
5.5 Summary 150
xii CONTENTS

PART 3 ENHANCING YOUR FUNCTIONAL SKILLS ..........151

6 Bulletproofing your code 153

6.1 Functional programming’s influence on unit tests 154
6.2 Challenges of testing imperative programs 155
Difficulty identifying and decomposing tasks 155
Dependency on shared resources leads to inconsistent results 157
Predefined order of execution 158
6.3 Testing functional code 159
Treating a function as a black box 159 Focusing on business
■

logic instead of control flow 160 Separating the pure from

■

the impure with monadic isolation 161 Mocking external

■

dependencies 164
6.4 Capturing specifications with property-based testing 166
6.5 Measuring effectiveness through code coverage 172
Measuring the effectiveness of testing functional code 173
Measuring the complexity of functional code 177
6.6 Summary 179

7 Functional optimizations 180

7.1 Under the hood of function execution 181
Currying and the function context stack 183 ■
Challenges of
recursive code 186
7.2 Deferring execution using lazy evaluation 188
Avoiding computations with the alternation functional
combinator 189 Taking advantage of shortcut fusion
■ 190
7.3 Implementing a call-when-needed strategy 191
Understanding memoization 192 Memoizing computationally
■

intensive functions 192 Taking advantage of currying and

■

memoization 196 Decomposing to maximize memoization 196

■

Applying memoization to recursive calls 197

7.4 Recursion and tail-call optimization (TCO) 199
Converting non-tail calls to tail calls 201
7.5 Summary 203
 CONTENTS xiii

8 Managing asynchronous events and data 205

8.1 Challenges of asynchronous code 206
Creating temporal dependencies among functions 207
Falling into a callback pyramid 208 Using continuation-
■

passing style 210

8.2 First-class asynchronous behavior with promises 214
Future method chains 216 Composing synchronous and
■

asynchronous behavior 221

8.3 Lazy data generation 224
Generators and recursion 226 ■ The Iterator protocol 228
8.4 Functional and reactive programming with RxJS 229
Data as observable sequences 229 Functional and reactive
■

programming 230 RxJS and promises 233

■

8.5 Summary 234

appendix JavaScript libraries used in this book 235

index 239
 preface
When I was in college and graduate school, my class schedule was focused on object-
oriented design as the sole methodology for planning and architecting software sys-
tems. And, like many developers, I began my career writing object-oriented code and
building entire systems based on this paradigm.
Throughout my development career, I’ve learned and followed programming lan-
guages closely, not only because I want to learn something cool, but also because I’m
intrigued by the design decisions and philosophy that each language fosters. Just as a
new language provides a different perspective on how to approach software problems,
a new paradigm can achieve the same effect. Although the object-oriented approach
continues to be the modus operandi of software design, learning about functional
programming will open your eyes to new techniques that you can use on their own or
in parallel with any other design paradigm that fits your application.
Functional programming has been around for years, but to me it was only a minor
distraction. I had heard and read about the benefits of Haskell, Lisp, Scheme, and,
more recently, Scala, Clojure, and F# in terms of expressiveness and being highly pro-
ductive platforms; even Java, which has traditionally been known as a verbose language,
has functional artifacts that make code more succinct. Eventually, the minor distrac-
tion became impossible to avoid. And guess what? JavaScript, that object-oriented
language everyone uses, can be turned around 180 degrees and used functionally. It
turns out that this is the most powerful and effective way to use JavaScript. It took me
a long time to discover this, and in this book I want to make you aware of it so you
don’t have go on wondering why your JavaScript code is becoming so complex.

xv
xvi PREFACE

Throughout my journey as a developer, I’ve learned how to use functional pro-

gramming principles to create code that is modular, expressive, robust, easy to reason
about, and simple to test. Without a doubt, this has changed me as a software engi-
neer, so I wanted to capture and jot down my experiences somehow—perhaps in a
book. Naturally, I approached Manning, with the idea of writing a functional pro-
gramming book using the Dart programming language. I was playing around with
Dart at the time and thought that combining it with my functional background would
be a fun, unexplored, uncharted territory. I wrote a proposal, and a week later I had
an interview. During the interview, I learned that Manning was seeking a person to
write a book about functional programming in JavaScript. Because JavaScript is a lan-
guage I’m very much obsessed with, to say the least, I was thrilled to jump into this
opportunity. By writing this book, I hope to help you develop the same skills and take
your development in a new direction.
 acknowledgments
Writing a book is not a trivial undertaking, and the tireless collaboration of many peo-
ple with a variety of talents brought to life the manuscript you’re holding (or reading
onscreen).
The staff at Manning were incredible and instrumental in obtaining the level of
quality we all hoped for, and I thank all of them from the bottom of my heart. Without
them, this book would not have been possible. Special thanks to Marjan Bace and
Mike Stephens for believing in the idea of this book and in me as an author; to Marina
Michaels, for giving me a map and a flashlight to navigate this maze of book-writing
challenges; to Susan Conant, for bringing me up to speed and teaching me my first
lessons about what it means to write a technical book; to Bert Bates, for giving me my
initial sparks of creativity and for his amazing insights on how to teach programming;
and to everyone on the editorial and production teams, including Mary Piergies, Janet
Vail, Kevin Sullivan, Tiffany Taylor, Katie Tennant, Dennis Dalinnik, and many others
who worked behind the scenes.
I can’t thank enough the amazing group of technical peer reviewers led by
Aleksandar Dragosavljevic—Amy Teng, Andrew Meredith, Becky Huett, Daniel Lamb,
David Barkol, Ed Griebel, Efran Cobisi, Ezra Simeloff, John Shea, Ken Fukuyama,
Peter Edwards, Subhasis Ghosh, Tanner Slayton, Thorsten Szutzkus, Wilfredo Manrique,
William E. Wheeler, and Yiling Lu—and the talented forum contributors. Their con-
tributions included catching technical mistakes, errors in terminology, and typos, and
making topic suggestions. Each pass through the review process and each piece of
feedback implemented through the forum topics shaped and molded the manuscript.

xvii
xviii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

On the technical side, special thanks to Dean Iverson, who served as the book’s
technical editor; Daniel Lamb, who served as the book’s technical proofreader; and
Brian Hanafee, for his thorough and in-depth evaluation of the entire book. They are
the best technical editors I could have hoped for.
Last but not least, I thank my wife for always supporting me, and my family for
pushing me to become better every day and not asking why I didn’t call as often to
check in while I was writing this book. Also, thanks go to my colleagues at work for
purchasing early releases of the chapters. I am grateful to have the pleasure of work-
ing alongside such wonderful people.
 about this book
Complexity is a huge beast to tame, and we’ll never get rid of it entirely; it will always
be an aspect of software development. I’ve spent countless hours and immeasurable
brainpower trying to understand what a particular piece of code does. The secret is to
control the complexity so it doesn’t grow in proportion to the size of your code base—
and functional programming can help. We’re writing more JavaScript than ever before.
We’ve gone from building small client-side event-handling routines, to heavy client-
side architectures, to complete isomorphic (server + client) JavaScript applications.
Functional programming isn’t a tool—it’s a way of thinking that can apply equally to
any of these environments.
This book is designed to teach you how to apply functional programming tech-
niques to your code using ECMAScript 6 JavaScript. The material is presented at a
gradual, steady pace and covers both theoretical and practical aspects of functional
programming. I provide additional information for advanced readers, to help you get
deeper into some of the harder concepts.

Roadmap
This book has eight chapters and is divided into three parts that guide you from fun-
damental building blocks to more-advanced and practical applications of functional
programming.

xix
xx ABOUT THIS BOOK

Part 1, “Think functionally,” paints a high-level landscape of functional JavaScript.

It also discusses core aspects of using JavaScript functionally and thinking like a func-
tional programmer:
■ Chapter 1 introduces some of the core functional concepts that are explained
in later chapters and prepares you to make the functional leap. It introduces
the main pillars of functional programming, including pure functions, side
effects, and declarative programming.
■ Chapter 2 establishes a level playing field for beginning and intermediate
JavaScript developers and acts as a refresher for more-advanced readers. In
addition, it’s sprinkled with basic functional programming concepts to prepare
you for the techniques discussed in part 2.
Part 2, “Get functional,” focuses on core functional programming techniques, includ-
ing function chains, currying, composition, monads, and more:
■ Chapter 3 introduces function chains and explores writing programs as combi-
nations of recursion and high-order functions like map, filter, and reduce. It
teaches these concepts using the Lodash.js framework.
■ Chapter 4 covers the popular techniques of currying and composition, which
increase the modularity of your code. Using a functional framework such as
Ramda.js, composition is the glue that orchestrates your entire JavaScript solution.
■ Chapter 5 provides a deep dive into more-theoretical areas of functional pro-
gramming, with a comprehensive and gradual discussion of functors and monads
in the context of error handling.

Part 3, “Enhancing your functional skills,” discusses the practical benefits of using
functional programming to tackle real-world challenges:
■ Chapter 6 reveals the inherent ease with which functional programs can be unit
tested. In addition, it introduces a rigorous, automated testing mode called
property-based testing.
■ Chapter 7 takes a look at JavaScript’s memory model, which is used to support
the evaluation of functions. This chapter also discusses techniques that help
optimize the execution time of functional JavaScript applications.
■ Chapter 8 introduces some of the main challenges JavaScript developers face
on a day-to-day basis when dealing with event-driven and asynchronous behav-
ior. It discusses how functional programming can provide elegant solutions to
reduce the complexity of existing imperative solutions with a related paradigm
known as reactive programming, implemented using RxJS.

Who should read this book

Functional Programming in JavaScript is written for JavaScript developers with at least a
basic understanding of object-oriented software and a general awareness of the chal-
lenges of modern web applications. Because JavaScript is such a ubiquitous language,
 ABOUT THIS BOOK xxi

if you want an introduction to functional programming and prefer a familiar syntax,

you can take full advantage of this book instead of learning Haskell. (If you want to
ease your way into Haskell, this book isn’t the best resource, because each language
has its own idiosyncrasies that are best understood by learning it directly.)
The book will help beginning and intermediate programmers heighten their
JavaScript skills with higher-order functions, closures, function currying, composition,
as well as new JavaScript ES6 features like lambda expressions, iterators, generators,
and promises. Advanced developers will enjoy the comprehensive coverage of monads
and reactive programming as well, which can help you implement innovative ways of
tackling the arduous task of dealing with event-driven and asynchronous code, taking
full advantage of the JavaScript platform.

How to use this book

If you’re a beginner or intermediate JavaScript developer and functional program-
ming is new to you, begin with chapter 1. If you’re a strong JavaScript programmer,
you can skim through chapter 2 and move quickly into chapter 3, which begins with
function chains and overall functional design.
More-advanced users of functional JavaScript typically understand pure functions,
currying, and composition, so you may skim chapter 4 and move into functors and
monads in chapter 5.

Examples and source code

The code examples in this book use ECMAScript 6 JavaScript, which can run equally
well on either the server (Node.js) or the client. Some examples show I/O and
browser DOM APIs, but without regard for browser incompatibilities. I assume you
have experience interacting at a basic level with HTML pages and the console. No spe-
cific browser-based JavaScript is used.
The book makes heavy use of functional JavaScript libraries like Lodash.js, Ramda.js,
and others. You can find documentation and installation information in the appendix.
This book contains extensive code listings that showcase functional techniques
and, where appropriate, compare imperative versus functional designs. You can find
all the code samples at the publisher’s website, https://www.manning.com/books/
functional-programming-in-javascript, and on GitHub at https://github.com/luijar/
functional-programming-js.

Typographical conventions
The following conventions are used throughout the book:
■ Italic typeface is used to reference important terms.
■ Courier typeface is used to denote code listings, as well as elements and attri-
butes, methods names, classes, functions, and other programming artifacts.
■ Code annotations accompany some of the source code listings, highlighting
important concepts.
xxii ABOUT THIS BOOK

About the author

Luis Atencio (@luijar) is a staff software engineer for Citrix Systems in Ft. Lauderdale,
Florida. He has a B.S. and an M.S. in Computer Science and now works full-time
developing and architecting applications using JavaScript, Java, and PHP platforms.
Luis is very involved in the community and has presented frequently at local meetups
and conferences. He blogs about software engineering at luisatencio.net, writes arti-
cles for magazines and DZone, and is also the coauthor of RxJS in Action (forthcoming
from Manning in 2017).

Author Online
Purchase of Functional Programming in JavaScript includes free access to a private web
forum run by Manning Publications where you can make comments about the book,
ask technical questions, and receive help from the author and from other users. To
access the forum and subscribe to it, point your web browser to https://www.manning
.com/books/functional-programming-in-javascript. This page provides information
on how to get on the forum once you are registered, what kind of help is available,
and the rules of conduct on the forum.
Manning’s commitment to our readers is to provide a venue where a meaningful
dialog between individual readers and between readers and the author can take place.
It is not a commitment to any specific amount of participation on the part of the
author, whose contribution to Author Online remains voluntary (and unpaid). We
suggest you try asking the author some challenging questions lest his interest stray!
The Author Online forum and the archives of previous discussions will be accessible
from the publisher’s website as long as the book is in print.
 Part 1

Think functionally

I t’s highly probable that most of your experience building professional appli-
cations has been with an object-oriented language. You may have heard or read
about functional programming in other books, blogs, forums, and magazine
articles, but you’ve probably never written any functional code. Don’t worry; this
is to be expected. I’ve done most of my development in an object-oriented envi-
ronment as well. Writing functional code isn’t difficult, but learning to think
functionally and letting go of old habits is. The primary goal of part 1 of this
book is to lay the foundation for and prepare your mind to embrace the func-
tional techniques discussed in parts 2 and 3.
Chapter 1 discusses what functional programming is and the mindset you
need to embrace it; it also introduces some of the most important techniques
based on pure functions, immutability, side effects, and referential transparency.
These form the backbone of all functional code and will help you transition into
functional more easily. Also, these will be the guiding principles that set the stage
for many of the design decisions we make in the following chapters.
Chapter 2 provides a first view of JavaScript as a functional language. Because
it’s so ubiquitous and mainstream, it’s an ideal language with which to teach func-
tional programming. If you aren’t a strong JavaScript developer, this chapter will
bring you up to speed with everything you need to know to understand functional
JavaScript, such as higher-order functions, closures, and scoping rules.
 Becoming functional

This chapter covers

■ Thinking in functional terms
■ Learning the what and why of functional
programming
■ Understanding the principles of immutability
and pure functions
■ Functional programming techniques and their
impact on overall design

OO makes code understandable by encapsulating moving parts.

FP makes code understandable by minimizing moving parts.

—Michael Feathers (Twitter)

If you’re reading this book, chances are you’re a JavaScript developer with a work-
ing knowledge of object-oriented or structured design, and you’re curious about
functional programming. Perhaps you’ve tried to learn it before and haven’t been
able to apply it successfully at work or on your personal projects. In either case,
your main goal is to advance your development skills and improve the quality of
your code. This book can help you accomplish that.

3
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
1st. All specimens examined (including Hoy’s type of N. kirtlandi) are
young birds, as is unmistakably apparent from the texture of their
plumage.
2d. All specimens examined of the N. acadica are adults. I have seen
no description of the young.
3d. The geographical distribution, the size and proportions, the
pattern of coloration (except that of the head and body, which in all
Owls is more or less different in the young and adult stages), and
the shades of colors on the general upper plumage, are the same in
both. The white “scalloping” on the outer web of the alula, the
number of white spots on the primaries, and the precise number and
position of the white bars on the tail, are features common to the
two.
4th. The most extreme example of albifrons has the facial circle
uniform brown, like the neck, has no spots on the forehead, and the
face is entirely uniform dark brown; but,
5th. Three out of the four specimens in the collection have the facial
circle composed of white and brown streaks (adult feathers),
precisely as in acadica, and the forehead similarly streaked (with
adult feathers). Two of them have new feathers appearing upon the
sides of the breast (beneath the brown patch), as well as upon the
face; these new feathers are, in the most minute respects, like the
common (adult) dress of N. acadica.
The above facts point conclusively to the identity of the Nyctale
“albifrons” and N. acadica. This species is easily distinguishable from
the N. tengmalmi, which belongs to both continents, though the
North American and European specimens are readily separable, and
therefore should be recognized as geographical races.
Since the above was published in the American Naturalist for May,
1872, Dr. J. W. Velie, of Chicago, writing under date of November 20,
1872, furnishes the following proof of the identity of N. “albifrons”
and N. acadica: “In 1868, I kept a fine specimen of “Nyctale
albifrons” until it moulted and became a fine specimen of Nyctale
acadica. I had, until the fire, all the notes about this interesting little
species, and photographs in the different stages of moulting.”
Habits. The Little Acadian or Saw-Whet Owl, as this bird is more
generally denominated, appears to have a widespread distribution
over temperate North America. It is not known to be anywhere very
abundant, though its nocturnal and secluded habits tend to prevent
any intimate acquaintance either with its habits or its numbers in
any particular locality. It is rarely found in the daytime out of its
hiding-places. It was not met with by Richardson in the fur regions,
yet it is generally supposed to be a somewhat northern species,
occurring only in winter south of Pennsylvania, but for this
impression there does not seem to be any assignable reason or any
confirmatory evidence. It has been said to breed near Cleveland,
Ohio, and its nest and eggs to have been secured. The taking of
Kirtland’s Owl, which is now known to be the immature bird of this
species, near that city, as well as in Racine, and at Hamilton,
Canada, is also suggestive that this Owl may breed in those
localities.
Dr. Townsend is said to have found this Owl in Oregon, Dr. Gambel
met with it in California, Mr. Audubon has taken it both in Kentucky
and in Louisiana, Mr. Wilson met with it in New Jersey, Mr. McCulloch
in Nova Scotia, and Dr. Hoy in Wisconsin. Dr. Newberry met with this
bird in Oregon, but saw none in California. Dr. Suckley obtained it at
the Dalles, on the north side of the Columbia, in December. This was
several miles from the timbered region, and the bird was supposed
to be living in the basaltic cliffs of the vicinity. Dr. Cooper found one
at Vancouver in February. It was dead, and had apparently died of
starvation. Professor Snow speaks of it as rare in Kansas. Mr.
Boardman and Professor Verrill both give it as resident and as
common in Maine. It is rather occasional and rare in Eastern
Massachusetts, and Mr. Allen did not find it common near
Springfield. On one occasion I found one of these birds in April, at
Nahant. It was apparently migrating, and had sought shelter in the
rocky cliffs of that peninsula. It was greatly bewildered by the light,
and was several times almost on the point of being captured by
hand.
This Owl is not unfrequently kept in confinement. It seems easily
reconciled to captivity, becomes quite tame, suffers itself to be
handled by strangers without resenting the familiarity, but is greatly
excited at the sight of mice or rats. Captain Bland had one of these
birds in captivity at Halifax, which he put into the same room with a
rat. The bird immediately attacked and killed the rat, but died soon
after of exhaustion.
The notes of this Owl, during the breeding-season, are said to
resemble the noise made by the filing of a saw, and it is known in
certain localities as the Saw-Whet. Mr. Audubon, on one occasion,
hearing these notes in a forest, and unaware of their source,
imagined he was in the vicinity of a saw-mill.
According to Mr. Audubon, this Owl breeds in hollow trees, or in the
deserted nests of other birds; and lays from four to six glossy-white
eggs, which are almost spherical. He states, also, that he found near
Natchez a nest in the broken stump of a small decayed tree not
more than four feet high. He also mentions the occasional
occurrence of one of these Owls in the midst of one of our crowded
cities. One of them was thus taken in Cincinnati, where it was found
resting on the edge of a child’s cradle. Mr. McCulloch, quoted by
Audubon, gives an interesting account of the notes and the
ventriloquial powers of this bird. On one occasion he heard what
seemed to him to be the faint notes of a distant bell. Upon
approaching the place from which these sounds proceeded, they
appeared at one time to be in front of him, then behind him, now on
his right hand, now on his left, again at a great distance, and then
close behind him. At last he discovered the bird at the entrance of a
small hole in a birch-tree, where it was calling to its mate. As he
stood at the foot of the tree, in full sight of the bird, he observed the
singular power it possessed of altering its voice, making it seem near
or remote,—a faculty which he had never noticed in any other bird.
An egg given me by Mr. Rufus E. Winslow as one of this bird, and
figured in the North American Oölogy, was undoubtedly that of a
Woodpecker. It is of a crystalline whiteness, nearly spherical, and
measures 1.13 inches in length by .87 of an inch in breadth.
A well-identified egg in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution,
taken by Mr. R. Christ at Nazareth, Penn., (No. 14,538, S. I.,)
measures .95 of an inch by .88. The two ends are exactly similar or
symmetrical. The egg is white, and is marked as having been
collected April 25, 1867.

Genus SCOPS, Savigny.

Scops, Savigny, 1809. (Type, Strix scops, L. = Scops zorca (Gm.) Swains.)
Ephialitis, Keys. & Bl. 1840, nec Schrank, 1802.
Megascops, Kaup, 1848. (Type, Strix asio, L.)
Gen. Char. Size small, the head provided with ear-tufts. Bill light-colored; iris
yellow. Three to four outer quills with inner webs sinuated. Wings long (more than
twice the length of the tail, which is short and slightly rounded); second to fifth
quills longest. Toes naked, or only scantily feathered. Ear-conch small and simple.
Plumage exceedingly variegated, the colors different shades of brown, with rufous,
black, and white, in fine mottlings and pencillings; feathers above and below
usually with blackish shaft-streaks, those beneath usually with five transverse
bars; primaries spotted with whitish, and outer webs of the lower row of scapulars
the same edged terminally with black. Tail obscurely banded.
 ½
Scops asio.

The species of this genus are cosmopolitan, the greater number,

however, being found in tropical regions. All the American species
differ from S. zorca of Europe in having the fourth and fifth quills
longest, instead of the second, and in having three to four, instead
of only two, of the outer quills with the inner web sinuated, as well
as in having the quills shorter, broader, and more bowed, and their
under surface more concave. They may, perhaps, be distinguished
as a separate subgenus (Megascops, Kaup). Of the American species
all but S. asio (including its several races) have the toes perfectly
naked to their very bases.

Species and Races.

Common Characters. Plumage brown, gray, or rufous, and whitish,

finely mottled above; lower parts transversely barred, and with
dark shaft-streaks. Outer webs of lower scapulars light-colored
(white or ochraceous) and without markings. Tail crossed by
rather obscure mottled light and dark bars of nearly equal width.
Outer webs of primaries with nearly equal bands of whitish and
dusky.
1. S. asio. Toes covered (more or less densely) with bristles, or
hair-like feathers. Wing, 5.50–7.80; tail, 3.20–4.10; culmen,
.50–.70; tarsus, 1.00–1.70; middle toe, .70–.80. Ear-tufts well
developed; facial circle black.
Colors smoky-brown and pale fulvous, with little or none of
pure white. Outer webs of the scapulars pale ochraceous-
fulvous. Wing, 6.90–7.30; tail, 3.50–4.50. Hab. North Pacific
region, from Western Idaho and Washington Territory,
northward to Sitka … var. kennicotti.
Colors ashy-gray and pure white, with little or none of
fulvous. Outer webs of the scapulars pure white. Varying to
bright brick-red, or lateritious-rufous.
Mottlings coarse, the blackish median streaks above not
sharply defined, and the bars beneath heavy and distinct.
Wing, 6.10–7.75; tail, 3.30–4.35. In the red plumage,
white prevailing on the lower parts, where the red
markings are not broken into transverse bars. Hab.
United States; except the Southern Middle Province, the
northwest region, and Florida … var. asio.
Wing, 5.50–6.00; tail, 2.75–3.10. In the red plumage, red
prevailing on the lower parts, where the markings are
much broken into transverse bars. Hab. Florida and
Southern Georgia … var. floridanus.
Wing, 5.50–5.80; tail, 3.20–3.30. Gray plumage, like var.
asio, but the mottling above much coarser, and the nape
with a strongly indicated collar of rounded white spots in
pairs, on opposite webs. Red plumage not seen. Hab.
Eastern Mexico and Guatemala … var. enano.25
 Mottlings fine, the blackish median streaks above very
sharply defined and conspicuous; bars beneath delicate and
indistinct.
Wing, 6.20–6.50; tail, 3.35–3.50. Hab. Southern Middle
Province, and Southern California; Cape St. Lucas … var.
maccalli.
2. S. flammeola. Toes perfectly naked, the feathering of the
tarsus terminating abruptly at the lower joint. Wing, 5.40; tail,
2.80; culmen, .35; tarsus, .90; middle toe, .55. Ear-tufts short,
or rudimentary. Facial circle rusty. Outer webs of the scapulars
rusty-ochraceous, in striking contrast to the grayish of the wings
and back. Other markings and colors much as in asio. Hab.
Mountain regions of Mexico and California, from Guatemala to
Fort Crook, Northern California.

Scops asio, Bonap.

LITTLE RED OWL; MOTTLED OWL; “SCREECH-OWL.”

Noctua aurita minor, Catesby, Carol. I, 1754, 7, pl. vii. Asio scops carolinensis,
Briss. Orn. I, 1760, 497. Strix asio, Linn. Syst. Nat. 1758, 92.—Gmel. S. N. 1789,
287.—Lath. Ind. Orn. 1790, 54.—Ib. Syn. I, 123.—Ib. Supp. I, 42; Gen. Hist. I,
314.—Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 1800, 216.—Shaw, Zoöl. VII, 1809, 229.—Temm. Pl. Col.
80.—Wils. Am. Orn. 1808, pl. xlii, f. 1.—Jard. (ed. Wils.) Orn. I, 1831, 307.—
Bonap. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. II, 36.—Ib. Isis, 1832, 1139.—Audubon, Birds N. A. 1831,
pl. xcvii.—Ib. Orn. Biog. I, 486.—Brewer (ed. Wils.) Orn. 1852, p. 687.—Hobs.
Nat. 1855, 169. Bubo asio, Vieill. Ois. Am., Sept., 1807, 53, pl. xxi.—Giraud,
Birds Long Island, 1844, 28.—Max. Cab. J. VI, 1858, 23. Otus asio, Stephens,
Zoöl. XIII, pt. ii, 1815, 57. Scops asio, Bonap. List, 1838, 6.—Less. Tr. Orn. 107.
—Cass. Birds Cal. & Tex. 1854, 179.—Ib. Birds N. Am. 1858, 51.—Kaup, Monog.
Strig. Cont. Orn. 1852, 112.—Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 1855, 199.—Heerm. P. R.
Rept. II, 1855, 35.—Coop. & Suckl. P. R. Rept. 155.—Maynard, Birds Eastern
Mass., 1870, 131.—Coues, Key, 1872, 202.—Gray, Hand List, I, 1869, 46.
Ephialtes asio, Gray, Gen. B. fol. 1844, sp. 9.—Ib. List Birds Brit. Mus. 1844, p.
96.—Woodh. 1853, 62. Strix nævia, Gmel. S. N. 1789, 289.—Lath. Ind. Orn.
1790, p. 55.—Ib. Syn. I, 126; Gen. Hist. I, 321.—Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 1800, 217.—
Shaw, Zoöl. VII, 1809, 230.—Wils. Am. Orn. 1808, pl. xix, f. 1. Asio nævia, Less.
 Man. Orn. I, 1828, 117. Otus nævius, Cuv. Reg. An. (ed. 2), I, 1829, 341.
Surnia nævia, James. (ed. Wils.), Orn., 1831, I, 96 & 99.

a. Normal plumage.

Sp. Char. Adult. Ground-color above brownish-cinereous, palest on the head,

purest ashy on the wings, minutely mottled with fine zigzag transverse bars of
black, each feather with a medial ragged stripe of the same along the shaft. Inner
webs of ear-tufts, outer webs of scapulars, and oval spots occupying most of the
outer webs of the two or three lower feathers of the middle and secondary wing-
coverts, white, forming (except on the first) conspicuous spots, those of the
scapulars bordered with black. Secondaries crossed with about seven regular paler
bands, each enclosing a more irregular dusky one; the ground-color, however, is
so mottled with grayish, and the pale bands with dusky, that they are by no means
sharply defined or conspicuous, though they are very regular; alula and primary
coverts more sharply barred with cream-colored spots, those on the former nearly
white; primaries with broad quadrate spots of creamy-white on outer webs, these
forming from seven (♂) to eight (♀) transverse bands, the last of which is not
terminal. Tail more irregularly mottled than the wings, and crossed by seven (♂) to
eight (♀) narrow, obsolete, but continuous, pale bands.
Eyebrows white, the feathers bordered with dusky (most broadly so in ♂); cheeks,
ear-coverts, and lower throat dull white, with transverse bars of blackish (most
numerous in the ♂); chin immaculate; upper eyelid dark brown; facial circle black;
neck and jugulum like the cheeks, but more strongly barred, and with blackish
along the shaft. Ground-color of the lower parts white, each feather with a medial
stripe of black, this throwing off distinct bars to the edge of the feather; the
medial black is largest on sides of the breast, where it expands into very large
conspicuous spots, having a slight rusty exterior suffusion; the abdomen medially,
the anal region, and the lower tail-coverts, are almost unvaried white. Tibiæ and
tarsi in the male dull white, much barred transversely with blackish; in the female,
pale ochraceous, more sparsely barred with dark brownish. Lining of the wing
creamy-white, varied only along the edge; light bars on under surface of primaries
very obsolete.
♂ (16,027, Fort Crook, North California; John Feilner). Wing, 6.70; tail, 3.80;
culmen, .61; tarsus, 1.35; middle toe, .72; ear-tufts, 1.00; wing-formula, 3=4, 5–
2, 6, 1=9. “Length, 9.50; extent, 23.75.”
♀ (18,299, Hellgate, Montana; Jno. Pearsall). Wing, 7.80; tail, 4.10; culmen, .70;
tarsus, 1.70; middle toe, .80; ear-tufts, 1.00.
Young ♂ (No. 29,738, Wood’s Hole, Mass., July 25, 1863; S. F. Baird. “Parent
gray”). Secondaries, primaries, and tail, as in the adult, gray plumage; but the
latter more mottled, the bands confused. Rest of the plumage everywhere grayish-
white, with numerous transverse bars of dusky-brown; eyebrows and lores
scarcely variegated dull white; facial circle obsolete.
♀ (41,891, Philadelphia, Penn.; J. Krider). Whole head, neck, back, rump, and
entire lower parts transversely barred with dark brown and grayish-white, the
bands of the former on the upper parts rather exceeding the white in width, but
on the lower surface much narrower; scapulars with large transverse spots of
white on the outer webs. Wings and tail as in the adult. Facial disk conspicuous.
(More advanced in age than the preceding.)

b. Rufescent plumage.

Adult. General pattern of the preceding; but the grayish tints replaced by
lateritious-rufous, very fine and bright, with a slight vinaceous cast: this is
uniform, and shows no trace of the transverse dark mottling; there are, however,
black shaft-lines to the feathers (these most conspicuous on the head above, and
scapulars, and narrower and more sharply defined than in the gray plumage). The
inner webs of the ear-tufts, outer webs of scapulars, and lower secondary and
middle wing-coverts, are white, as in the gray plumage; those of the scapulars are
also bordered with black. The secondaries, primaries, and tail are less bright
rufous than the other portions, the markings as in the gray plumage, only the tints
being different. The upper eyelid, and, in fact, all round the eye, fine light rufous;
cheeks and ear-coverts paler, scarcely variegated; black facial circle rather
narrower than in the gray plumage. Lower parts without the transverse bars of the
gray plumage, but in their place an irregular clouding of fine light red, like the
back; the lower parts medially (very broadly) immaculate snowy-white; most of
the feathers having the red spotting show black shaft-stripes, but the pectoral
spots are not near so large or conspicuous as in the gray bird. Tibiæ fine pale
ochraceous-rufous; tarsi the same posteriorly, in front white with cuneate specks
of rufous; lower tail-coverts each with a medial transversely cordate spot of dilute
rufous, the shaft black. Lining of the wing with numerous rufous spots.
♂ (12,045, Washington, D. C., January). Wing, 6.30; tail, 3.00.
♀ (22,512, Maryland; R. G. Campbell). Wing, 6.70; tail, 3.50.
Young (29,792, Peoria, Illinois; Ferd. Bischoff). Wings and tail as in adult;
markings on head and body as in the young gray bird, but white bars more
reddish, and dark ones more brown.
Hab. Temperate North America, from the South Atlantic States to Oregon, and
from the northern United States to Texas. Replaced in the southern Middle
Province and Southern California by var. maccalli, in Florida by var. floridana, and
on the northwestern coast region by var. kennicotti.
Localities: (?) Cuba (Cabanis, Journ. III, 465).

The above stages of plumage have caused ornithologists a great

deal of perplexity; and it is only very recently that they have become
correctly understood. Even yet many persist in regarding the red
plumage as being that of the young bird.

Scops asio.

That these two very different plumages are entirely independent of

age, sex, or season, and that they are purely individual, there can be
no doubt; since in one nest there may often be found both red and
gray young ones, while their parents may be either both red or both
gray, the male red and the female gray, or vice versa. Occasionally
specimens (such as No. 39,093, ♂, Neosho Falls, Kansas, April 13;
parent of five eggs, and captured on the nest with a gray male) are
exactly intermediate between these two plumages, it being difficult
to decide which predominates; the combination is not only of the
tints, but of the markings, of the two stages.
Habits. The habit of all the varieties of Scops asio in their different
localities will be found after their zoölogical description.

Scops asio, var. floridana, Ridgway.

Scops asio, Allen, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl. and other citations from Florida.
Char. Similar to var. asio, but much smaller, and the colors deeper. The gray stage
very similar to that of var. asio, but the red phase very appreciably different, in
there being a greater amount of rufous on the lower parts, the breast being nearly
uniformly colored, and the rufous broken elsewhere into transverse broad bars,
connected along the shaft. Wing, 5.50–6.00; tail, 2.75–3.10.
Hab. Florida and Lower Georgia.

This extreme southern form is much smaller than the more northern
ones, being about the same in size as the var. enano (see p. 1374)
of Middle America, and the S. atricapilla, Temm., of Tropical America
generally. The colors, as may be expected, are also darker and
richer.
In the collection of the Smithsonian Institution there are both red
and gray birds from Florida; a red one (No. 5,857, Indian River; Dr.
A. W. Wall) measures, wing, 5.50; tail, 2.70; culmen, .55; tarsus,
1.05; middle toe, .65; ear-tufts, .70. The colors are much darker
than those of typical asio. The rufous of the neck, all around, shows
obsolete darker transverse bars; the black border to the white
scapular spots is restricted to the tip, as in the gray plumage; the
inner webs of the ear-tufts are scarcely paler than the outer; the
neck and face are deeper rufous, while the rufous of the lower parts
is more general, and more in transverse rays; tibiæ and tarsi plain
rufous; the middle of the abdomen and the anal region only are pure
white.

Scops asio, var. maccalli, Cass.

WESTERN MOTTLED OWL.

Scops maccalli, Cass. Birds Cal. & Tex. p. 180, 1850; Birds N. Am. 1858, 52.—
Strickl. Orn. Syn. I, 200, 1865.—Coues, Prod. Orn. Ariz., p. 13, 1869.—Scl. &
Salv. P. Z. S., 1868, 57 (= trichopsis, Wagl. Isis, 1832, 276! see remarks
below).—Baird, Mex. Bound. II, 4, pl. i.—Gray, Hand List, I, 47, 1869. Scops
asio, var. maccalli (Ridgway) Coues, Key, 1872, 203. Ephialtes choliba (not of
Vieillot!), Lawr. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VI, 1853, p. 4.
Char. Adult (9,147, Camp 118, New Mexico, February 10, 1854; Kennerly and
Möllhausen). Above cinereous, the ashy appearance being caused by a minute
transverse mottling of blackish and pale ashy, on a deeper ash ground; each
feather with a distinct medial stripe of black, these broadest on the forehead;
outer webs of only a few scapulars white, these not bordered with black; outer
webs of two or three lower middle and secondary coverts white. Secondaries with
about seven transverse, mottled pale bands; primaries with about eight transverse
series of white spots; tail with about eight narrow pale bands.
Ear-coverts, cheeks, throat, neck, and jugulum finely and uniformly barred
transversely with dusky and grayish-white; the facial circle interrupted across the
throat, where in its place is a series of longitudinal black dashes.
Lower parts grayish-white, with numerous, very narrow transverse bars of dusky,
rather more distant from each other than those of the neck, etc.; each feather
with a medial narrow stripe of black, those on the breast forming conspicuous
spots; tibiæ and tarsi dull soiled white, with numerous spots of dark brown; lower
tail-coverts immaculate. Wing-formula, 3=4–2, 5, 6, 7, 8–1–9. Wing, 6.50; tail,
3.30; culmen, .55; tarsus, 1.15; middle toe, .70; ear-tufts, .85.
(A specimen from California (Stockton, E. S. Holden), kindly sent by Mr. Lawrence
for examination, differs from the preceding in rather more brown ground-color
above; the black shaft-streaks more obscure. In other respects as regards
plumage it is the same, and is typical maccalli. The size is less, it measuring, wing,
6.20; tail, 3.10.)
Young (first full, but incomplete plumage; 16,932, Cape St. Lucas, Lower
California). Secondaries, primaries, and tail as in the gray adult. Rest of the
plumage transversely barred with grayish-white and dusky, the latter
predominating on the upper parts; eyebrows and lores white; rings finely
transversely mottled with white, this forming spots on the lower feathers; tibiæ
and tarsi with numerous transverse dusky bars. Wing, 5.40; tail, 2.65; tarsi, 1.00;
middle toe, .63. No. 16,933 (same locality, etc.) is similar, but smaller, measuring,
5.00, 2.00, 1.00, and .60.
Hab. Southern Middle Province of United 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, Elliot.

KENNICOTT’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 immaculate white centrally. Feathers of the
lower parts with their transverse pencillings growing fainter
towards the middle line, which is unvariegated white, from the
central jugular spot to the anal region. Wing, 6.60–7.10; tail,
3.60–3.70; culmen, .60; tarsus, 1.25–1.40; middle toe, .80–.90.
(Two specimens.) Hab. Japan.
Var. kennicotti. No well-defined nuchal band; jugulum closely
barred centrally; feathers of the lower parts with their transverse
pencillings not growing fainter toward the middle line, which is
unvariegated white only on the abdominal portion; the medial
black streaks to the feathers of the lower surface much broader,
and transverse pencillings rather coarser. Wing, 6.90–7.30; tail,
3.50–4.50; culmen, .60–.65; tarsus, 1.35–1.45; middle toe,
.80–.90. (Three specimens.) Hab. North Pacific coast of North
America from Sitka to Washington Territory, and Western Idaho.
The zoölogical characters of the different varieties of the Scops asio
having been thus indicated, we proceed to consider the species as a
whole, and to point out the more important features of its habits and
history.
Habits. The common Mottled Owl has an extended distribution
throughout the temperate portion of North America. It is also the
most numerous of this family wherever found. It does not appear to
have been detected in any part of the Arctic regions. Although given
on the authority of Fabricius as a bird of Greenland, it is not retained
in the list of Reinhardt. It was not met with by Richardson, nor is
any reference made to it in any of the Arctic notes furnished by Mr.
MacFarlane or others. It is quite common throughout New England,
as well as in the Central, the Western, and some of the Southern
States. Mr. Boardman gives it as resident, but not very common,
near Calais, where it breeds. It is found near Hamilton, Canada,
according to McIlwraith, but it is not common, although Dr. Hall
found it quite numerous in the vicinity of Montreal. Mr. Downes does
not mention its occurrence in Nova Scotia. It was found breeding by
Dr. Lincecum, at Long Point, Texas. It occurs in California, and as
Scops kennicotti as far to the northwest as Sitka.
The Mottled Owl is nocturnal in its habits, never appearing abroad in
the daylight except when driven out by the attacks of hostile birds
that have discovered it in its retreat. Its eyes cannot endure the
light, and it experiences great inconvenience from such an exposure.
During the day it hides in hollow trees, in dark recesses in the
forests, or in dark corners of barns, and comes out from its retreat
just before dark. During the night it utters a very peculiar wailing
cry, not unlike the half-whining, half-barking complaints of a young
puppy, alternating from high to low, intermingled with deep guttural
trills. These cries, which are sometimes prolonged until after
midnight, usually elicit an answer from its mate or companions, and
would seem to be uttered as a call soliciting a reply from some lost
associate. When kept in confinement the Mottled Owl soon becomes
familiarized to its new mode of life, and rarely attempts to injure its
captors, though it will at first snap its bill in a threatening manner
and manifest considerable irritation on being approached or handled.
In the daytime they keep secluded, appear sleepy or stupid, with
half-closed eyes, but, as night approaches, become quite lively and
eager for their food. They utter their nocturnal cries in confinement,
the doleful sounds of which are in singular contrast with the lively
and excited air of the birds as they utter them. Their flight is
noiseless and gliding, and they move in a manner so nearly silent as
to be hardly perceptible. They are excellent mousers, and swallow
their food whole, ejecting the indigestible parts, such as hair, bones,
feathers, etc.
Wilson caught an adult bird, and kept it in confinement some time.
At first it was restless and attempted to escape, beating against the
glass of the window repeatedly, and several times with so much
violence as to stun itself. In a few days it was reconciled to its
situation, and became quite tame and familiar, and in the evening
was very lively, sprightly, and active.
The food of the Screech-Owl is chiefly small quadrupeds, insects,
and occasionally, when they have young, small birds. They destroy a
vast number of mice, beetles, and vermin, and are of great service
to the agriculturist, although their services are not appreciated, and
they are everywhere persecuted and hunted down without mercy or
justice.
The nest of this species is usually constructed in hollow trees or
stumps, most frequently in orchards in the vicinity of farm-houses,
and not more than six or seven feet from the ground. Mr. Audubon
states, however, that he has sometimes found them at the height of
thirty or forty. To show the provident habits of this Owl in procuring
for its young a great superabundance of food, Mr. Nuttall mentions
finding in the hollow stump of an apple-tree, which contained a
single brood of these young Owls, several Bluebirds, Blackbirds, and
Song-Sparrows.
Dr. Cooper, on the other hand, relates an instance where one of
these Owls resided as an inmate in a dove-cot, where it was not
known to do any injury to its inmates.
The Screech-Owl can hardly be said to construct any nest, but lines
the hollow in which it rears its young with a few loose leaves, dry
grasses, and feathers. The eggs are usually five or six in number;
they are pure white, and nearly round. Their average measurement
is 1.38 inches in length by 1.19 in breadth.
In regard to the distinctive peculiarities of var. maccalli, we are in
possession of but little information. Its habits probably do not
essentially vary from those of the common Scops asio, which it so
closely resembles in other respects, and of which it is to be regarded
as a geographical race. It was first taken by Mr. E. S. Holden, near
Sacramento, and described by Mr. Lawrence as the Ephialtes choliba
of Vieillot. It has since been found in other parts of California, in
Northern Mexico, Arizona, and on the Rio Grande. It was obtained in
Tamaulipas—where it is evidently rather common—by the late Dr.
Berlandier, who had also procured its eggs. A single specimen of this
Owl was obtained by Mr. A. Schott in Texas, and Mr. Dresser also
obtained two small Owls which he doubtfully refers to this variety,—
one near San Antonio, and the other in Bandera County. Lieutenant
Bendire writes that it is quite common in the vicinity of Tucson,
Arizona, though Dr. Coues did not meet with it. Dr. Kennerly
observed it on Bill Williams Fork, in New Mexico. It was there found
living in the large Cereus giganteus so common in that region, where
it occupied the deserted holes of various kinds of Woodpeckers. It
rarely made its appearance during the day, and then only to show its
head from the hole, ready at any moment to disappear at the
approach of danger. On one occasion it was observed among some
very thick bushes near the water. It does not appear to have been
met with by Dr. Cooper in California, where he refers all the Owls of
this genus to the common asio. A single individual, referred
doubtfully to this bird, was taken by Mr. Skinner in Guatemala. The
eggs of this bird, taken in Tamaulipas by Dr. Berlandier, are of nearly
globular shape, of a clear, almost crystal-white color, and measure
1.13 inches in length by 0.93 of an inch in breadth. As compared
with the eggs of Scops asio they are much smaller, their relative
capacity being only as five to eight.
The eggs of the var. asio vary greatly in size according to their
locality. Those taken in Florida are so much smaller than those from
Massachusetts as almost to be suggestive of specific differences. An
egg from Hudson, Mass., taken by Mr. Jillson in April, 1870,
measures 1.50 by 1.30 inches, while one from Monticello, Fla., taken
by Mr. Samuel Pasco, measures 1.30 by 1.15 inches. Mr. T. H.
Jackson, of Westchester, Penn., informs me that he has found a nest
of this Owl containing six fresh eggs, on the 5th of April.

Scops flammeola, Licht.

FEILNER’S OWL.

Scops flammeola, Licht. Mus. Berol. Nomenclat. p. 7, 1854.—Kaup, Trans. Zoöl.

Soc. IV, 226.—Schlegel, Mus. de Pays-Bas, Oti, p. 27.—Sclat. Proc. Zoöl. Soc.
1858, 96.—Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1868, 57; Exot. Orn. VII, 99, pl. l, July, 1868.—
Gray, Hand List, I, 47, 1869.—Elliot, Illust. Birds Am. I, pl. xxviii.—Coues, Key,
1872, 203.
Sp. Char. Adult (42,159, Orizaba Mountains, “rare,” February 3, 1865; Professor F.
Sumichrast). Ground-color above pale cinereous, this overlaid on the top of the
head, nape, and back by a brownish-olive shade, the ash showing pure only on
the borders of the crown and on the wing-coverts and scapulars; the whole upper
surface transversely mottled with white and blackish, the latter in the form of fine
zigzag lines and a splash along the shaft, this expanding transversely near the end
of the feather; the white is in the form of larger transverse spots, these largest
across the nape. Outer webs of the scapulars fine light orange-rufous (becoming
white beneath the surface), bordered terminally with black. Coverts along the
lower edge of the wing spotted with pale rufous; outer webs of the several lower
feathers of the middle and secondary wing-coverts with a large conspicuous spot
of white. Secondaries crossed by four well-defined narrow pale ochraceous bands;
primary coverts transversely spotted with the same; primaries with about five
transverse series of very large white spots on the outer webs, the spots
approaching ochraceous next the shaft and towards the end of the feather. Tail
profusely mottled like the back, and crossed with about five ragged, badly defined
pale bands, the last of which is not terminal. Ear-tufts inconspicuous.
Eyebrow white, feathers bordered with blackish; eye encircled with rusty rufous;
lores strongly tinged with the same; cheeks, ear-coverts, neck, and jugulum with
numerous transverse dusky bars upon a grayish-white ground. Facial circle rusty-
rufous spotted with black; throat with a tinge of rufous; chin white.
 Scops flammeola.

Lower parts, in general, white; each feather with a black shaft-stripe, this throwing
off bars in pairs, across the feather; the medial stripes are very broad, forming
longitudinal spots on the breast, and have here an external rufous suffusion; lower
tail-coverts very sparsely marked. Tibiæ and tarsi white, with very sparse
transverse dusky spots. Lining of the wing plain yellowish-white; bars on under
surface of primaries very obsolete, except basally. Wing-formula, 3=4; 5, 2–6;
1=8. Wing, 5.40; tail, 2.45; culmen, .35; tarsus, .87; middle toe, .55.
Young (first full, but imperfect plumage: ♂, 24,172, Fort Crook, North California,
August 23, 1860; John Feilner). Wings and tail as in the adult (last pale band of
latter apparently terminal). Whole head and body with numerous, about equal,
transverse bands of dusky and grayish-white; the two colors about equal, but on
lower parts both are much wider and more distinct than above the white gradually
increasing posteriorly. Breast and outer webs of scapulars with a rusty tinge, the
latter scarcely variegated. Eyebrow white, feathers bordered with dusky; eye-circle
and ear-coverts bright rusty-rufous; lores much tinged with the same. No facial
circle. Wing, 5.50; tail, 2.70.
Hab. Guatemala and central Mexico, northward (along Sierra Nevada) to Fort
Crook; California (breeding).

Habits. This is essentially a Mexican and Central American species,

occurring among the mountains of Mexico and thence to Guatemala.
One individual, however, the only one as yet recorded as taken in
the United States, was obtained at Fort Crook by Captain John
Feilner, and is now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
This was a young bird, evidently raised in that locality, and
apparently showing that the species breeds in that vicinity. It has
been taken also at Orizaba, in the State of Vera Cruz, Mexico.
Nothing is known as to any peculiarities of habit. These are not
probably different from those of the asio.

Genus BUBO, Dum.

Gen. Char. Size varying from medium to very large; head with or without ear-tufts.
Bill black; iris yellow. Two to four outer quills with their inner webs emarginated.
Third or fourth quill longest. Bill very robust, the lower mandible nearly truncated
and with a deep notch near the end; cere gradually ascending basally (not arched)
or nearly straight, not equal to the culmen. Tail short, a little more than half the
wing, slightly rounded. Ear-conch small, simple, without operculum; the two ears
symmetrical.

Subgenera.

Bubo. Two to three outer quills with their inner webs

emarginated. Ear-tufts well developed; loral feathers not hiding
the bill, and the claws and terminal scutellæ of the toes exposed.
Lower tail-coverts not reaching the end of the tail. (Type, B.
maximus.)
Nyctea. Four outer quills with their inner webs emarginated. Ear-
tufts rudimentary; loral feathers hiding the bill, and claws and
 entire toes concealed by long hair-like feathers. Lower tail-coverts
reaching to end of the tail. (Type, N. scandiaca.)
The species of this genus are mostly of very large size, two of them
(B. maximus and N. scandiaca) being the largest birds of the family.
They are nearly cosmopolitan, and are most numerous in the
Eastern Hemisphere.

Subgenus BUBO, Dum.

Bubo, Duméril, 1806. (Type, Strix bubo, Linn. = B. maximus, Sibb.)

Rhinostrix, Kaup, 1849. (Type, Strix mexicana, Gmel. = B. mexicanus, Ridgw.)
Rhinoptynx, Kaup, and Rhenoptynx, Kaup, 1857. (Same type.)

Species and Races.

1. B. virginianus. Lower parts transversely barred with black,

and without longitudinal stripes. Above without longitudinal stripes
on the anterior portions.
a. A conspicuous patch of white on the jugulum; lining of the
wing immaculate, or only faintly barred. Wing, 14.00–16.00;
tail, 8.00–10.00; culmen, 1.10–1.20; tarsus, 2.00–2.20; middle
toe, 1.95–2.10.
Rufous tints of the plumage prevailing; face dingy rufous.
Hab. Atlantic Province of North America … var. virginianus.
Lighter tints of the plumage prevailing; face dirty or fulvous
white. All the colors lighter. Hab. Western Province of United
States, and interior regions of British America. Upper
Mississippi Valley in winter (Wisconsin, Hoy; Pekin, Illinois,
Museum, Cambridge) … var. arcticus.
Dusky tints of the plumage prevailing; face dull grayish,
barred with dusky. All the colors darker, chiefly brownish-black
and grayish-white, with little or no rufous. Hab. Littoral
 regions of northern North America, from Oregon northward,
and around the northern coast to Labrador … var. pacificus.
b. No conspicuous patch of white on the jugulum, which, with
the lining of the wing, is distinctly barred with blackish. Wing,
12.00; tail, 7.50; culmen, 1.00; tarsus, 2.10; middle toe, 1.85.
Colors much as in var. virginianus, but more densely barred
beneath, the dark bars narrower and closer together. Hab.
South America … var. magellanicus.27

2. B. mexicanus.28 Lower parts longitudinally striped with black,

and without transverse bars. Above with longitudinal stripes on
the anterior portions. Wing, 11.20–12.00; tail, 6.00–6.50; culmen,
.90; tarsus, 2.00; middle toe, 1.95. Hab. Middle and South
America generally.

Subgenus NYCTEA, Stephens.

Nyctea, Stephens, Cont. Shaw’s Zoöl. XIII, 62, 1826. (Type Strix nyctea, Linn. N.
Scandiaca, Linn.).

Species and Races.

1. N. scandiaca. Adult. Color pure white, more or less barred

transversely with clear dusky, or brownish-black. Male sometimes
almost pure white. Downy young, sooty slate-color. Wing, 16.00–
18.00; tail, 9.00–10.00.
Dusky bars sparse, narrow, umber-brown. Hab. Northern parts
of Palæarctic Realm … var. scandiaca.29
Dusky bars more numerous, broader, and clear brownish-black.
Hab. Northern parts of Nearctic Realm … var. arctica.
 Bubo virginianus, var. virginianus, Bonap.
GREAT HORNED OWL.

Asio bubo virginianus, Briss. Orn. I, 484, 17, 1760. Strix virginiana, Gmel. Syst. Nat.
I, 287, 1788.—Lath. Ind. Orn. p. 52; Syn. I, 119; Supp. I, 40; Gen. Hist. I, 304.
—Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 210, pl. xiii.—Wils. Am. Orn. pl. l, f. 1.—Bonap. Ann. Lyc.
N. Y. II, 37 and 435; Isis, 1832, p. 1139.—Aud. Birds Am. pl. lxi, 1831; Orn.
Biog. I, 313.—Thomps. Nat. Hist. Vermont, pl. lxv.—Peab. Birds Mass. p. 87. Bubo
virginianus, Bonap. List, p. 6, 1838; Consp. Av. p. 48.—Jard. (Wils.) Am. Orn. II,
p. 257.—De Kay, Zoöl. N. Y. II, 24, pl. x, f. 2.—Nutt. Man. Orn. p. 124.—Max.
Cab. Jour. 1853, VI, 23.—Kaup, Tr. Zoöl. Soc. IV, 1859, 241.—Coues, Key, 1872,
202. Bubo virginianus atlanticus, Cassin, Birds of Cal. & Tex. I, 178, 1854.—
Birds N. Am. 1858, 49 (under B. virginianus). Otus virginianus, Steph. Zoöl.
XIII, ii, 57, 1836. Ulula virginiana, James. (Wils.), Am. Orn. I, 100, 1831. Strix
virginiana, α, Lath. Gen. Hist. I, 306, 1821. Strix bubo, δ, Lath. Ind. Orn. p. 52,
1790.—Shaw, Zoöl. VII, 215. Strix maximus, Bart. Trav. Carol. p. 285, 1792.
Bubo ludovicianus, Daud. Tr. Orn. II, 210, 1800. Bubo pinicola, Vieill. Ois. Am.
Sept. pl. xix, 1807; Enc. Méth. p. 1282.

6886 ½ ½
Bubo virginianus.

Sp. Char. Adult ♂ (12,057, Philadelphia; C. Drexler). Bases of all the feathers
yellowish-rufous, this partially exposed on the head above and nape, along the
scapulars, on the rump, and sides of the breast. On the upper surface this is
overlaid by a rather coarse transverse mottling of brownish-black upon a white
ground, the former rather predominating, particularly on the head and neck,
where it forms broad ragged longitudinal stripes (almost obliterating the
transverse bars), becoming prevalent, or blended, anteriorly. The lower feathers of
the scapulars, and some of the lower feathers of the middle and secondary wing-
coverts, with inconspicuous transverse spots of white. On the secondaries the
mottling is finer, giving a grayish aspect, and crossed with eight sharply defined,
but inconspicuous, bands of mottled dusky; primary coverts with the ground-color
very dark, and crossed with three or four bands of plain blackish, the last terminal,
though fainter than the rest; ground-color of the primaries more yellowish, the
mottling more delicate; they are crossed by nine transverse series of quadrate
dusky spots. The ground-color of the tail is pale ochraceous (transversely mottled
with dusky), becoming white at the tip, crossed by seven bands of mottled
blackish, these about equalling the light bands in width; on the middle feathers
the bands are broken and confused, running obliquely, or, in places, longitudinally.
Outer webs of ear-tufts pure black; inner webs almost wholly ochraceous;
eyebrows and lores white, the feathers with black shafts; face dingy rufous; eye
very narrowly encircled with whitish; a crescent of black bordering the upper
eyelid, and confluent with the black of the ear-tufts. Facial circle continuous black,
except across the foreneck; chin, throat, and jugulum pure immaculate white, to
the roots of the feathers. Beneath, white prevails, but the yellowish-rufous is
prevalent on the sides of the breast, and shows as the base color wherever the
feathers are disarranged. The sides of the breast, sides, and flanks have numerous
sharply defined narrow transverse bars of brownish-black; anteriorly these are
finer and more ragged, becoming coalesced so as to form conspicuous, somewhat
longitudinal, black spots. On the lower tail-coverts the bars are distant, though not
less sharply defined. The abdomen medially is scarcely maculate white. Legs and
toes plain ochraceous-white.

6886 ⅓
Bubo virginianus.
Wing-formula, 2, 3–4–1, 5. Wing, 14.50; tail, 8.20; culmen, 1.10; tarsus, 2.00;
middle toe, 2.00.
♀ (12,065, Maryland; R. J. Pollard). General appearance same as the male. Black
blotches on head above and nape less conspicuous, the surface being mottled like
the back, etc.; primary coverts with three well-defined narrow pure black bands;
primaries with only six bands, these broader than in the male; secondaries with
only five bands; tail with but six dark bands, these very much narrower than the
light ones. Tibiæ and tarsi with sparse transverse bars of dusky. Wing-formula, 3,
2, 4–1=5. Wing, 16.00; tail, 9.00; culmen, 1.20; tarsus, 2.20; middle toe, 2.10.
Young. Wings and tail as in adult. Downy plumage of head and body ochraceous,
with detached, rather distant, transverse bars of dusky. (12,062, Washington,
D. C., May 20, 1859; C. Drexler.)
Hab. Eastern North America, south of Labrador; west to the Missouri; south
through Atlantic region of Mexico to Costa Rica; Jamaica (Gosse).
Localities: (?) Oaxaca (Scl. 1859, 390; possibly var. arcticus); Guatemala (Scl. Ibis,
I. 222); Jamaica (Gosse, 23); Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 330, breeds); Costa Rica
(Lawr. IX, 132).

Specimens from the regions indicated vary but little, the only two
possessing differences of any note being one (58,747,30 ♂) from
Southern Illinois, and one (33,218, San Jose; J. Carmiol) from Costa
Rica. The first differs from all those from the eastern United States
in much deeper and darker shades of color, the rufous predominant
below, the legs and crissum being of quite a deep shade of this
color; the transverse bars beneath are also very broad and pure
black. This specimen is more like Audubon’s figure than any other,
and may possibly represent the peculiar style of the Lower
Mississippi region. The Costa Rica bird is remarkable for the
predominance of the rufous on all parts of the plumage; the legs,
however, are whitish, as in specimens from the Atlantic coast of the
United States. These specimens cannot, however, be considered as
anything else than merely local styles of the virginianus, var.
virginianus.

Bubo virginianus, var. arcticus, Swains.

WESTERN GREAT HORNED OWL.
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