STRIGID.Is. 



281 



THE BARN-OWL. 



Strix flammea, Linnreus. 



This species, often known as the White or Church-OwI, is gene- 

 rally distributed throughout England, Wales and Ireland ; it would 

 even be common but for the persecution it suffers from game- 

 keepers and ignorant farmers, as well as from dealers in plumes for 

 ladies' hats, fire-screens &c. In Scotland it is not often found be- 

 yond the lowlands, though it breeds in small numbers as far north 

 as Caithness, and in the Inner Hebrides, including Skye; in the 

 Orkneys it is now almost unknown, though it has recently occurred 

 in the Shetlands. 



On the Continent the Barn-Owl has a more restricted range 

 northward, and is not known to nest beyond the south of Sweden, 

 to which it has recently spread from Denmark, where the bird is 

 tolerably common. It is resident in Courland and not scarce in 

 Poland, while in Central Russia it is found sparingly as far east as 

 Toula and Orel, becoming abundant in the southern provinces of 

 Podolia and Bessarabia. In Austro-Hungary and the greater part 



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