56 BIRDS OF THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. 



company with a smaller owl.' In the last week of February of the 

 same year an adult female Eagle Owl no doubt the same bird 

 found its way to Aberdeen, from Mr Wilson's neighbourhood. It 

 fell into the hands of a wright, who brought it to me for identifica- 

 tion. It weighed seven and three quarter pounds. The stomach 

 contained two water rats, nearly whole. The owner would not 

 dispose of the bird, nor would he put it into the hands of a 

 taxidermist to have it properly stuffed. He gave me the body, 

 and I preserved the sternum and made a full description of the 

 plumage. I afterwards saw the Owl in the hands of the lucky 

 fellow, displayed as a curiosity; and in this he succeeded perfectly, 

 as I was forced to confess I had never seen such a fine bird so 

 thoroughly caricatured." 



THE SCOPS-EARED OWL. 

 SCOPS ALDROVANDL 



A SPECIMEN of this Owl, shot at Morrish, near Golspie, in Suther- 

 landshire, in May, 1854, was exhibited at a meeting of the Royal 

 Physical Society of Edinburgh in November following, by Dr J. 

 A. Smith of that city; and the late Mr St John has mentioned in 

 his "Tour in Sutherland," vol. i., p. 122, that the species has been 

 found breeding on heaths near the Oykel river. These are the only 

 records of the occurrence of this species in Scotland, but it is possible 

 that the species found by Mr St John was the Short-eared Owl. 



It is a somewhat curious feature in the history of the Scops- 

 eared Owl, that it lives wholly upon insects. It is, therefore, in 

 temperate countries strictly migratory in its habits, and in France, 

 where it is not uncommon, it is said to come and go with the 

 swallow. 



THE LONG EARED OWL. 

 OTUS VVLGARIS. 



A MUCH less common bird in western Scotland than the next 

 species, and totally absent from the outer islands. It breeds, how- 

 ever, in Mull and Skye in limited numbers. In the cultivated 

 districts of Dumbartonshire it is tolerably common, and in Ayr- 



