STRIGID/E. 



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TENGMALMS OWL. 



Nyctala tengmalmi (J. F. (imelin). 



As indicated by its thick and downy plumage, this small Owl is 

 an inhabitant of northern regions, whence it migrates southward in 

 severe weather ; wandering, at long intervals, to (xreat Britain in 

 autumn and winter, and in spring on its return northwards. Since 

 the beginning of this century about fifteen examples have been 

 obtained in England — chiefly in Northumberland, Yorkshire, Norfolk 

 and Suffolk ; specimens have, however, been ol)tained as far south 

 as Kent and Somerset (though the so-called Sussex example proves 

 to be a Little Owl) ; also in Shropshire, near Preston in Lancashire, 

 and once in Cumberland. With regard to Scotland, one has been 

 captured in the Orkneys, and one in the Firth of Forth. As yet 

 there is no record from Ireland. 



Tengmalm's Owl inhabits Scandinavia, Lapland, Finland and 

 Russia, almost up to the northern limit of the forests; its southern 

 breeding-range in the latter country coinciding with the growth of 

 Pinus sylvestris, and reaching as far as Saratov and Orenburg. In 

 winter its migrations extend to Guriev, where the Ural River empties 

 itself into the Caspian Sea ; but Dr. Menzbier, the eminent Russian 

 authority, does not believe in its asserted existence in the Crimea. It 

 breeds in the higher forests of the various branches of the Carpathians, 



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