Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-03-05
AN UNDERSIGNED OWL.
A We'll Known California Bird OF the
Night That Has No Name.

Night That Has No Name.
The important discovery has been mado
in Washingto" that tho horned owl Of Cal
iforna has J. q dmc.
This may DO largely duo to tho retiring
nature of this mcdtativo sonRStcr Of tho
moonlight, which has kept it from intrud-
ing itself into the business of ornitholo.
gists with double barrclcd shotguns, but
tho fact romans that tho well known
horned owl Of tho Sierra forests has just
been discovered. In fact, there Is no
horned owl west of tho Missouri river that
has n namc-lhat Is, u real namo besides
tho niclnamcs which vulgar speech has
bestowed
Ornithoogists havo always supposed
that California has put up with tho Same
kind Of an ordinary horned owl that has
been given to tho rest Of America, and
they have carelcssly called our fine bird
with the peaked tufts behind its ears tho
Bubo virginiauGs subarCticus But now
California may boast horned owl o its
own. Moro than that, it has been dis "
cred that there is no such thing Us u DO
virginianus subarctcus ut all. III Is
but another of the mass Of things Ii
constantly show how ignorant ornit.. olo.
gists arc when it comes to birds.
Ii has been known for u long tlmo that
white horned owl of the name Of Bubo
virgnianus nrctlcus ilourishcS north of
the Canadian border, and that south Of it,
west of the Missouri, other horned owls
live and foot from tho plains to tho Pacific
ocean. Years ago big bird man named
Hoy shot horned owl ont west supposed
it to be tho regular horned owl of tho
west, called it virgin!anus subarcticus,
Ia, nj -
put away in arsenic in tho Smithsonian
institution, has been tho typo of authority
OH western horned owls.
1t was Ornithologst Lcycrett NJ. Loomis
of the Academy of Sciences who discovered
this owlish scientific bunder while ON the
eastern visit from which he has just re-
turned. He had taken two owlskins along,
3 with II lot OF other specimens intended Tor
4 comparison and study in tho great eastern
geological museums, and on investigation
concerning the owls he found that the Hoy
type was "a stray Canadian from the north
for ono thing and for another thing that
the California horned owl has white feet,
reddish dress and other differences that
madO it q distinct typo. AS it is "a discov-
Crcr' $ solo province to bCstow names ho
will call tho horned owl Of tho Rockies
and the plains tho Bubo Virginianus huyi
after tho man who made the mistake, but
/ no is still thinking about what hO will call
the now owl that he has given to CalifOr-
MIA.
or course California is rich in other owls
that tho ornithologists have managed to
namo correctly. There are tho charming
saw whet, SO called because its song sug-
gests saw sharpening in u sawmill; the
California scrccch which bellies tho rumor
that California birds have no song; tho
burrowng owl Of tho Pacific coast, that
lives with the gophcrs and chipmunks,
and SO on.
Mr. Luoms has also named now spo-
cics of shcarwatcr an ocean bird, that he
discovered during his months of daily
boating 10 miles OFF Monterey, and it will
go into tho books as tho Pullinus sill
bcrti, g." after DIR. Gilbert of stanford uni
vorsity.
The particular occasion Of Mr.. LOOMS
trip east WAS tho thirteenth annual con-
gress of the American OrnithologicaL I'M
ion at Washington, AT which no read Il pa
per quite parnlyzing to tho bird scientists
there Loumis has for II great many years
boon n special authority ON bird migra-
tion, and it was the discoveries concerning
the pcagic birds of the Pacific, made dur
ing his rclontless boating trips far off the
shore at Monterey, that he gave to the sci
I. onco of ornithology. Tho ocean birds OF
tho Pacific are but very little known, and
, from three To ten miles off the Pacific
shore anywhere arc millions of ocean bird:
never seen ON shore LOomis got out
among thom daily for months gathered
many specimens never reported before IL
This part Of the world, found species never
described anywhere and made u spccia
study of migrations. lilo discovered and
= demonstrated the fact, now TO scicnce, that
,, ocean birds, in their long migrations DO
tween tho arctic and the southern regions
AFRO not guided by instinct, but always
keep the shore line in Wow and are guided
by il. Birds that fly high fly farther from
shore. All swing in to follow the bend il
the coast line, and during fogs thoy fly
close to tho surf TO be guided by tho sound
During the Is months that Professor
= LOOMS has been here he has increased TIT
ornithological collection OF tho Academy
of Sciences from 2, 100 TO 5000 specimens
and is in hurry to make IL 20, 900, though
this would DO small compared with th'
three or four great collections Of tho east
Tho Academy of Sciences is doing notable
work in tho almost unworlied field of tht
birds of tho Paciilc.-San Francisco Can
Joy of Being In tho Majority.
'l. 10.