HAWK OWL. 147 



weeks, and then came into his possession. The very cir- 

 cumstantial account of the capture of this bird given by 

 Captain Stacey of the collier leaves no doubt of its accu- 

 racy. Such was the account given to the Zoological So- 

 ciety in June 1835, by Mr. Thompson of Belfast, of the 

 capture of this Owl, as recorded in the Proceedings of that 

 Society, on the evening when the specimen was exhibited. 

 This bird is an inhabitant of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, 

 and other parts of the North of Europe ; it is not unfre- 

 quently seen in Germany, and even in France ; it is an 

 inhabitant also of great part of North America. Edwards 

 long ago described and figured this species under the name 

 of Hawk Owl, from examples received from Hudson's Bay; 

 and I have followed Mr. Gould in retaining for this species 

 the English name of Hawk Owl, as originally bestowed 

 upon it by our countryman Edwards. 



The most recent account of the habits of this species has 

 been supplied in the Fauna Boreali- Americana, by Dr. 

 Richardson and Mr. Swainson, and I hope I am not ex- 

 ceeding privilege in availing myself of part of it. 



" This Owl remains all the year in high northern lati- 

 tudes in America, and is rarely seen so far south as Penn- 

 sylvania, and then only in severe winters. Wilson saw 

 only two specimens in the United States. It is a common 

 species throughout the fur-countries, from Hudson's Bay to 

 the Pacific, and is more frequently killed than any other 

 by the hunters, which may be partly attributed to its 

 boldness, and its habit of flying about by day. In the 

 summer season it feeds principally on mice and insects ; 

 but in the snow-clad regions, which it frequents in the win- 

 ter, neither of these are to be procured, and it then preys 

 mostly on Ptarmigan. It is a constant attendant on the 

 flocks of Ptarmigan in their spring migrations to the north- 

 ward. It builds its nest on a tree of sticks, grass, and 



