ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE LITTLE OWL IN FIFE 225 



ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE LITTLE 

 OWL IN FIFE. 



By Robert Somerville, B.Sc. 



A FEW years ago the Dunfermline Naturalists' Society 

 instituted a Natural History Museum, which has so far been 

 run on unpretentious lines. But while the limited resources 

 of the Society have prevented it from launching out on any 

 ambitious scheme, the advantages enjoyed by Dunfermline 

 may make it possible for the town to be in possession in the 

 near future, it is hoped, of a museum in which the Natural 

 History of the Forth basin will be represented much in the 

 same way as that of the Tay Valley in the Perth Museum. 

 A fair collection has been brought together in these few years, 

 and there is a goodly number of local birds and Lepidoptera, 

 thanks to the enthusiasm of the curator. 



What is regarded as the gem of the collection is a specimen 

 of the Little Owl {Athene noetua, Scopoli), which is believed 

 to be the first admissible record of this bird in Scotland. It 

 was captured by some gentlemen who were out rabbit- 

 shooting at East Grange, a place about six miles to the west 

 of Dunfermline, on 9th November 1910. The bird was first 

 observed clinging to the bark of a tree, and on taking flight 

 it was shot without any of the party knowing what it really 

 was. As a matter of fact it was by the merest chance that 

 the specimen found its way to the Museum, one of the gentle- 

 men who takes an interest in the institution thinking to 

 present another donation in the shape of a "young owl." 

 The wily curator agreed that it was a fine young owl, and 

 promptly forwarded it to Small & Son, Edinburgh, who had 

 it nicely stuffed and mounted. The bird is a male, and in size 

 and markings agrees very closely with the description given 

 in Howard Saunders' Manual of British Birds, to which those 

 specially interested are referred. For the information of the 

 general reader it may be of interest to state that the specimen 

 is 9 ins. long, with a wing 6 ins. in length. The Little Owl is 

 IO 2 F 



