52 The hish Naturalist, March, 



LUMINOUS OWLS. 



Supplementary Note.'' 



by pastor c. lindner. 



While turning over, the other day, the leaves of the 

 Journal fur Ornithologie (the most important ornithological 

 magazine in Germany), I found in vol. xiii. {1865, pp. 

 419-420) the description of an observation which, I think, 

 may supplement the article published by Miss E. Dobbs 

 in last year's Irish Naturalist.^ In that volume of the 

 Journal fiir Ornithologie the late Dr. C. Bolle translated 

 the Catalogue of the Birds of Sardinia, b}^ T. Salvadori, 

 where we read about the Mediterranean Cormorant (Phala- 

 crocorax Desmaresti, Payr.), as follows : — 



" The ]\larchese Antinori and I have made a very 

 remarkable observation on the feathers of this Cormorant. 

 I had killed a young one near St. Ellas' Head, and put it 

 into the boat, which was white-washed and coloured green 

 with oil paint. On skinning the bird we perceived that 

 the feathers of the upper side, chiefl}^ of the back, the 

 shoulders, and the tail seemed to be soiled by the green 

 paint of the boat. But though we washed the skin re- 

 peatedly with spirit of tuipentine and with soap and water, 

 we were unsuccessful in removing the colour. Indeed, 

 when water was employed the green colour became 

 brighter, and finally we perceived that the colour was 

 caused, not by any artificial substance, but by an alga 

 attached to the feathers. We found the same thing, more 

 or less developed, on all the other young individuals that 

 we examined. I sent some leathers to the famous botanist. 

 Professor Pietro Savi, of Pisa, for examination, who 

 writes : — 



" ' The alga which dyes green the tips of the feathers 

 of Phalacrocorax Desmaresti, and which is to be found only 



1 See Irish Natiiyalist, vol. xx., 191 1, pp. 177-8, 

 8 Ih., pp. 123-6. 



