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 im 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 Hdwards. 
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 flymg 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 
