136 The If ish Naturalist. June, 



STRICES. 



Strix flammca,Liun. BarnOwi..—Ou the 23rd August an inhabitant 

 of Dunmore watched " a strange light-coloured hawk," as he called 

 it, fly in from over the sea to the cliflfs. The bird on reaching the pre- 

 cipice entered a rock-fissure and disappeared. The brave native 

 descended the face of the cliflf. I saw him thrust his hand into 

 the crevice. Quickly he withdrew it holding a Barn Owl. The 

 bird lacerated him considerably with its talons, but the stout Irish- 

 man did not relax his grasp, and succeeded in ascending the cliff 

 holding the bird triumphantly in his hand. 



I made a pet of this Barn Owl; and kept it for over two months in 

 captivity. Finally I presented it to the Dublin Zoological Gardens. 

 It seemed to prefer a rat to any other form of diet, sometimes being 

 tempted to " dine " off one even in the middle of the day. This was 

 the only owl I observed on the peninsula. On questioning the 

 natives they said " they had never seen the like before." 



ACCIPITRES. 



Circus cyancus, Ivinn. Hen Harrier.— A few are said to roam over 

 the Dingle peninsula. West of Dingle I observed this species only 

 once, viz., August nth. It was flying over the brow of a hill near 

 Dunmore Head, and it came so close to me that I was able to 

 identify it as either an adult female or an immature bird in the 

 brown plumage. It frequently retraced its flight over the moors, 

 and more than once it "brushed" by me not fifty yards distant. 

 My friend, Rev. W. J. King, who resided west of Dingle for many 

 years, has repeatedly noticed the Hen Harrier on the peninsula. In 

 a letter to me he describes its flight:— "Low and listless it flies 

 along, skirting the tops of stone v/alls, backwards and forwards 

 over the bogs, never alighting, but always coursing after something 

 or another." He adds: — "The adult blue-coloured bird is very 

 beautiful as he skims noiselessly over the mountain boglands." 

 1 have not met with an adult male Hen Harrier west of Dingle, 

 but near Killorglin I had a splendid view of one on the 3rd of 

 January, 1901. This interesting hawk is decreasing in Ireland. 

 Ussher states : — *' Kerry is one of its chief strongholds. It breeds 

 on the mountains both north and south of Dingle Ba3\" 

 Paico peregrlnus, Tunst. Peregrink Fai^con.— I observed one or 

 two nearly every day on my rambles through the peninsula. A pair 

 frequented the side of a steep hill near Bally ferriter. They usually 

 appeared after a shot had been fired. On one occasion (December 

 28th) when I had winged a pigeon a Peregrine nearly succeeded in 

 snatching up the wounded bird as it fluttered on the ground. How- 

 ever, I bagged my game before the hawk "stole a march " on the. 

 Another time (August 31st) I witnessed a chase between a male Pere- 

 grine and a Swallow. The nimble little bird was pressed hard by its 

 assailant. Backwards and forwards, high and low, they both flew ; 



