Mr. J. H. Gurney on Pel's Owl. M7 



seated to me by Col. O'Connor, but it having unfortunately 

 died before I received it, I am unable to say to what species it 

 belonged. 



With reference to the habitat of " Ashantee'^ assigned to this 

 species by Prince C. L. Bonaparte, it is proper to observe, that 

 Dr. Hartlaub, in his work 'On the Birds of West Africa' (p. 18), 

 refers to the specimen in the Ley den Museum as having been 

 brought from Rio Boutry. Other specimens from the River 

 Camma are mentioned in Mr. Cassin's list of birds collected 

 by M. Duchaillu, in the 'Proceedings of the Academy of 

 Natural Sciences of Philadelphia ' for the present year, p. 32. 

 Besides these, the subject of the present notice is, I believe, the 

 only other individual of this species the occurrence of which has 

 as yet been recorded. The Barra Country, from which it was ob- 

 tained, is stated in ' FuUartou's Gazetteer ' to lie " on the north 

 bank of the Gambia, extending about 18 leagues along the coast, 

 with a breadth of 14 leagues," and is therefore considerably to 

 the north of the localities from which the two previous specimens 

 were obtained. 



Catton Hall, Norwich, 

 27th Sept. 1859. 



Memorandum hy Col. O'Connor, C.B., Lieut. -Col. 1st W.I.Regt. 



" Sketch of Nero, the Owl, a ' Feetish Bird,' from the River 

 Gambia, Western coast of Africa. 



'' During seven years' exploration of Western Africa, I only 

 met one of the species of the Owl ' Nero.' He was brought 

 ' a chicken' full of pen-feathers, or rather down, of a delicate 

 straw-colour, and very thick, from a lagoon in the Barra Coun- 

 try. No native would admit ' Nero ' as a visitor ; and wheti the 

 bird was installed in Government House, the servants and head 

 people came in a body to remonstrate, asserting ' he was a Gumbi 

 owl, a 'Feetish' ! ! !, and would destroy and kill whatever object 

 he looked on.' The chief groom (an old soldier, who had charge 

 of the poultry) insisted that ' every cock and hen would go dead.' 

 Strangely enough, an epidemic broke out, and carried oflF fifty to 

 sixty head of fowls ; and each day the groom placed the defunct 



