THE ZooLocisT—APRiIL, 1876. 4871 
not fit the “hard-up” theory : it should have been February 6, 1876.— 
Robert Mitford ; Hampstead, N.W. 
Barn Owl and Rat.—The following instance of instinct at fault, which 
has not been recorded, was communicated to me some time ago :—In the 
autumn of 1865 a fine barn owl was brought to be stuffed. It belonged 
to a Mr. Wallis, farmer, of Leigh, near Tonbridge, Kent. The farmer's 
wife told me she had picked up the bird dead on the barn-floor, and that 
beside it, also dead, was a very large rat. There is little doubt but that an 
encounter had taken place between them, the injuries received by each 
being sufficient to cause death. The bird had evidently been severely 
bitten by the rat—J. H. Gurney, jun. 
Barn Owl and Shrew.—It is not altogether so unusual as Mr. Mitford 
supposes for barn owls to feed on shrews. I have once or twice—and my 
father has repeatedly—found skulls of the shrew in pellets of the barn owl. 
It would seem that in Germany shrews are their principal food. According to 
the investigations of Dr. Altum, as quoted in the fourth edition of “ Yarrell” 
(vol.i., p. 148), 706 pellets were found to contain the remains of 1590 shrews. 
In England, however, they cannot be said to be very fond of them, though 
several writers mention the shrew in their bill of fare. The Rev. L. Jenyns 
gives a remarkable instance of their catching them and bringing them to 
the nest, and afterwards rejecting them. It seems that they will make shift 
with them, but only (in England) when they cannot get anything more to 
their taste. In different countries owls have different tastes, or perhaps in 
Germany shrew mice are not so “ strong.” —Td. 
Snowy Owl in County Fermanagh.—When shooting last week on the 
mountains near the village of Sack, I observed a specimen of this rare bird. 
My brother and I spent the day in pursuit of it; it never allowed us to 
approach nearer than a hundred and fifty or two hundred yards, but did 
not fly more than a quarter of a mile or so on being disturbed. We found 
the remains of a hare and two grouse destroyed by it. It had been seen 
by the keepers for some days previously, and also on the following day, 
after which it moved to an adjoining moor.—H. B. Murray; February 29, 
1876. (From the ‘ Field.’) 
Scandinavian Variety (?) of the Dipper at Beverley —On the 29th of 
October last a blackbreasted dipper, which I believe to be the Scandinavian 
variety (Cinclus melanogaster), was shot on our river by a person named 
Priestman. The dipper (C. aquaticus) is not a resident in this part of the 
country, and it is a most unusual thing for one to be shot here. Whether 
or not the two or three that have occurred in my recollection have been of 
the C. melanogaster form, I cannot say, as I have not seen them; but 
I suspect it will turn out to be so, as C. aquaticus is rather a stationary 
bird. Delighting as the dipper does in swift and rugged mountain streams, 
there is little wonder at its absence from here, where our streams are 
