A New Subspecies of Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) in the Sierra Nevada of California, U.S.A.

The Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) has a holarctic distribution with two previously described subspecies: S n. nebulosa in North America and S. n. laponica in Eurasia (Bull and Duncan 1993). Strix n. nebulosa is differentiated from S. n. laponica by slightly smaller size and generally darker plumage (Cramp 1985, Bull and Duncan 1993). The North American breeding range of the species is extensive, and the species occurs throughout the boreal forests of Canada and the northern United States. The winter range of S. n. nebulosa is similar to the breeding range, with irregular irruptive movements from the northern portion of the range southward as far as New York and Pennsylvania (Brunton and Pittaway 1971, Bull and Duncan 1993). In western North America, the breeding range extends southward through the montane coniferous forests of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, and...