142 STRIGIDA. 
Tus beautiful species of Owl, originally described by 
Linneus in his Mauna 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 
