SNOWY OWL. 151 



THIS beautiful species of Owl, originally described by 

 Linnaeus in his Fauna Suecica, 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 procured on that occasion ; but in the month of Sep- 

 tember following he had the gratification of receiving one 

 which had been killed a few weeks before by Mr. L. Ed- 

 monston 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 precipices 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 summer, in company with 

 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 

 various examples have been killed : one in Norfolk in the 

 year 1814, a second in the same county in 1820, two in 

 Northumberland in 1823. In May, 1835, Dr. Neill of 

 Canonmills, near Edinburgh, made the following commu- 

 nication to the conductor of the Magazine of Natural His- 



