BIRDS. 133 



Tengmalm's Owl. A specimen of this tiny and rare Owl 

 Nyctala Tengmalmi. was shot near Ruyton, in 1872, and 

 is in the collection at Hawkstone. 



Eagle Owl. A splendid bird which occasionally wanders 

 Bubo ignavus. to Britain from the forests of Northern 



Europe. One was caught at Steventon, 

 Ludlow, about 1868, and kept alive for three years: 

 it is now in the Ludlow Museum. Another was killed 

 near Bridgnorth in 1873 ; and a third near Onslow 

 in 1887 now in the possession of Mr. Barrett, Cross 

 Gates Inn. All three may be birds escaped from aviaries. 

 The photograph on page 88, fig. 10, shows an Eagle Owl 

 in the extraordinary attitude it assumes when irritated 

 or enraged. 



Marsh Harrier. The birds that follow are classed together 

 Circus amginosus. under the name of BIRDS OF PREY. 



They are distinguished by their sharp 

 curved talons, hooked beaks, and a membrane called 

 the " cere " over the nostrils and top mandible. The 

 females are, in all cases, larger than the males. The 

 Marsh Harrier was never numerous, and is now very 

 rare in Shropshire. Specimens have been obtained 

 many years ago, at Berwick, and on the Longmynd, 

 and one was seen by Mr. Dumville Lees, near Oswestry, 

 in January, 1886. 



Hen Harrier B. Almost as rare as the last, but has been 

 C. cyaneus. shot at Ticklerton (a pair about 1840), 



Clungunford, Wem, Whitchurch, Lud- 

 low (1887), and Ruabon (1892). A male was seen by 

 Mr. Dumville Lees, near Oswestry, in 1879, and in 1894 

 a female was seen for several days about Betton Pool. 



