252 BIRDS CLAIMING TO BE ACCOUNTED BRITISH. 



nothing but the truth, is what we wish to arrive at, and with 

 regard to British Birds that is not always easy. 



Eagle Owl. 



Few indeed are the number of times that the Eagle Owl 

 has really been killed in a wild state in this country, yet 

 many are the supposititious records of it. Mr. Harting 

 (op. cit.) gives a pretty fair list of them, to which I can add a 

 few others, having noted down for some time any which I came 

 across. I wish to premise that though some are obviously 

 incorrect, and others presumably so, I think this noble bird 

 of prey has indubitably occurred in one or two instances, 

 and it may once upon a time have been not very infrequent 

 in Shetland and Orkney, according to the opinion of the 

 best authority upon those groups — the late Dr. Saxby ; but 

 unfortunately it is so often kept in confinement that nearly 

 all the cases — the more recent ones especially — are open to 

 the suspicion of being escapes. 



In Norfolk an Eagle Owl* was taken alive in 1853, accord- 

 ing to the Rev. G. Jeans {Naturalist, 1865, p. 258), and a 

 second in Mr. J. Tomlinson's collection was shot at Somer- 

 ton in 1864. I believe these would not stand a careful 

 enquiry, which at present has never been made, but would 

 speedily find themselves in the category with our tame bird, 

 which escaped at Northrepps in 1869, and was recorded in 

 more than one journal with much pomp and parade. 



A fourth seems to have been got off Flamborough, _/f(i!? 

 Mr. P. Hawbridge, in 1837 (Wood's Naturalist, III., p. 155) ; 

 while a fifth was seen at North Sunderland in October, 

 12,72, fide Mr. J. Sutton ("Birds of Northumb. and Dun," 

 p. 22) ; and again another, supposed on " very good 



* In the "Field" of December 13th, 1873, this example is stated to 

 have come from Norway. 



