690 PATAGONIAN EXPEDITIONS: ZOOLOGY. 



"Our visit was fruitless, but we had ample evidence of their having 

 been there lately. The local name for this Owl is 'Quitilipe,' evidently- 

 given it from its peculiar hooting." 



Cunningham (Nat. Hist. Str. Magell. 1871, 91) says of this species: 

 "While we were engaged in looking for a place to cross a stream with the 

 intricate windings of which it took some experience to become acquainted, 

 a large owl was discovered perched on the branch of a neighbouring tree, 

 and shot. It proved to be a fine specimen of the Bubo Magellauicus, a 

 species which, I am informed by Mr. Sclater, ranges over nearly the whole 

 extent of North and South America, being identical with the well-known 

 Virginian Horned Owl. We were struck with the cat-like appearance 

 which its great yellow eyes communicated to its countenance. The 

 plumage of this species, which sometimes exceeds two feet in length, is 

 beautifully mottled with a variety of shades of black, brown, and grey. 

 In the Straits of Magellan, besides occurring in the wooded districts, it is 

 far from rare in the open country, where it sometimes may be seen perched 

 on the barberry bushes, or sailing quietly along on the lookout for its 

 prey, which consists in great measure of rodents of various species." 

 (Sandy Point, December, 1866.) 



Again (p. 277) he writes: "In the neighbourhood of these warrens I 

 noticed a good many specimens of the great owl [Bubo Magellanicus). 

 These were in general perched on the barberry bushes, and were very 

 bold, barking at me in their peculiar fashion, and allowing me to come 

 within three or four yards of them before taking flight." (Gregory Bay, 

 December, 1868.) 



Hudson (Idle Days in Patagonia, pp. 190-193) writes: "Nature has 

 many surprises for those who wait on her ; one of the greatest she ever 

 favoured me with was the sight of a wounded Magellanic eagle-owl I shot 

 in Patagonia. The haunt of this bird was an island in the river, over- 

 grown with giant grasses and tall willows, leafless now, for it was in the 

 middle of winter. Here I sought for and found him waiting on his perch 

 for the sun to set. He eyed me so calmly when I aimed my gun, I 

 scarcely had the heart to pull the trigger. He had reigned there so long, 

 the feudal tyrant of that remote wilderness ! Many a water-rat, stealing 

 like a shadow along the margin between the deep stream and the giant 

 rushes, he had snatched away to death ; many a spotted wild pigeon had 

 woke on its perch at night with his cruel crooked talons piercing its flesh ; 



