VOL. XIV.] NOTES ON BRITISH RECORDS. 183 



list. The specimen in the British Museum collection killed 

 at Eversleigh (Wilts) in September 1864 by J. Clarke 

 Hawkshaw and recorded by Gould [Birds of Great Britain, 

 Vol. I., p. XXX.), has a good history, and is no doubt an 

 example of this form. Its upper-parts are broadly edged 

 rufous, tail tinged rufous and under parts with the centres 

 of the feathers brownish-rufous, under tail-coverts and 

 axillaries barred rufous, the under-parts being more rufous 

 than any example of Buteo b. buteo that I have seen. The 

 bird is unsexed, but its measurements are small even for a 

 male B. b. buteo, viz., wing 363 mm., tail 200, tarsus 76, 

 bill 20. Other specimens in the British Museum, which 

 Mr. H. Kirke Swann considers to be referable to this form 

 or B. b. zimmermanncB (Synop. List Accipitres, p. 44), are, 

 I consider, B. b. buteo. 



A male obtained at Bywell, near Newcastle, in 1830, and 

 a male from Tynemouth, November 1870, were stated by the 

 late J. H. Gurney (senr.) to have been of this form {Ibis, 1878, 

 p. 118). By the kindness of Mr. E. Leonard Gill and the 

 authorities of the Hancock Museum, Newcastle, we have 

 been able to examine the Bywell specimen, but the Tynemouth 

 bird Mr. Gill says he is unable to trace. The Bywell example 

 is absolutely typical of Buteo b. buteo in colour, but the wing 

 is very short, measuring only 355 mm. But the bird is in 

 moult, and the fourth primary in each wing is only about a 

 quarter grown and is hidden by the other feathers. In 

 the Common Buzzard, although the third primary is some- 

 times as long as the fourth, it is sometimes as much as 

 15 mm. shorter. If 15 mm. is added to 355 we have 370, 

 and considering also the worn state of the old third primary 

 in this bird I think there can be no doubt that this is an 

 example of the typical form Buteo b. buteo. The late J. H. 

 Gurney was evidently misled by the size of the wing, and 

 did not notice that the bird was moulting. At present, 

 therefore, the inclusion of the Steppe Buzzard in the British 

 List must rest upon the Wiltshire specimen of 1864. 



The British Tawny Owl [Strix aluco sylvatica Shaw). 



In the next part of the Practical Handbook, shortly to be 

 issued, it will be seen that the separation of the British Tawny 

 Owl from the Continental form is adopted. The British bird 

 is distinguished from the typical form by its smaller size : 

 wing, males, British 245-270 mm.. Continental 265-290 mm. ; 

 females, British 255-275, Continental 270-305. Also in the 

 British form the grey " phase " is very scarce, while in the 

 typical form grey birds are more frequent than tawny ones. 



