SNOWY OWL. 135 



This beautiful species of Owl, originally described by 

 Linneus in his Fauna Siiecica, was first made known as a 

 British bird by Mr. William Bullock in 1812, in the sum- 

 mer of which year that indefatigable collector on visiting the 

 islands of Orkney and Shetland was told that such a bird had 

 been seen on the links or rabbit-warren of one of the islands 

 near the sea-shore, and soon after Mr. Bullock obtained 

 sight of it himself. This specimen, however, was not pro- 

 cured on that occasion ; but in the month of September fol- 

 lowing he had the gratification of receiving one which had 

 been killed a few weeks before by Mr. L. Edmonston in 

 Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland isles. Mr. Bullock 

 adds, that he had not the smallest doubt the Snowy Owl at 

 that time remained the whole year in the mountainous pre- 

 cipices both of that island, and also of the island of Yell, in 

 the immediate vicinity. " They are seen there," he said, 

 " at the end of the summer, in company Avith their young, 

 three or four together: the latter are then brown. Their 

 flight, which I had several opportunities of observing, was 

 more light and buoyant than any of the Hawks ; but not so 

 much so as our common Barn Owl. They prey by day on 

 various animals : one wounded on the Isle of Balta disgorged 

 a young rabbit whole ; and that now in my possession had in 

 its stomach a Sandpiper, with its plumage entire." 



Recent visitors to the Shetland Islands believe that the 

 Snowy Owl is only now occasionally to be seen there in 

 winter. In that season of the year 1812, a fine specimen was 

 shot at Elsdon in Northumberland. Since that period va- 

 rious examples have been killed : one in Norfolk in the year 

 1814, a second in the same county in 1820, two in North- 

 umberland in 1823. In May 1835, Dr. Neill of Canon- 

 mills, near Edinburgh, made the following communication to 

 the conductor of the Magazine of Natural History, vol. viii. 

 page 508. " Last week I received from Mr. Scarth, Sanda, 



