294 EAGLF. OWL. 



islands," thus implying that (in 1804) the bird 

 had either been lately seen or heard of. Montague 

 states, that it has been shot in Yorkshire and 

 Sussex, also in Kent ;* and Mr Selby, in a note, 

 states, " I have been lately informed, from good 

 authority, that one of the above species was killed 

 on the upland muirs in the county of Durham 

 some years ago." In Ireland Mr Thompson has 

 not seen it, but Mr Stewart in his catalogue of the 

 birds of Donegal remarks, " Four of these birds 

 paid us a visit for two days, after a great storm 

 from the north, when the ground was covered 

 with snow ; they have not since been found here : 

 as I am informed that a pair of them breed on 

 Tory Island, about nine miles to the north of this 

 coast, it is probable that they came from that 

 island, "t 



So far as we understand the habits of this bird, 

 it continues in the seclusion of the forests or 

 wooded precipices during the day, hunting in the 

 twilight, perhaps during dull weather at all times. 

 Temminck gives ruined buildings as occasionally 

 selected for its breeding places, also the clefts of 

 rocks ; Mr Hewitson mentions its nest as placed 

 on the ground in bare and bleak rocky districts ; 

 the number of eggs is said to be from two to four, 

 rarely the latter, of considerable size, pure white, 



* Pennant Br. Zool. 8vo. edit. 1812, i. p.. 254. 

 f London's Mag. of Nat. Hist. v. p. 581. 



