Natural History of Ireland. 179 



grotesquely moving- from one leg to the other on its perch, accompani- 

 ed at the same time by a bow or inclination of the head sideways. It 

 screamed greatly during the night. 



Tawny Owl — Ulula stridula, Selby. — This species is mention- 

 ed as Irish in several of the statistical surveys of our counties and 

 other catalogues. It never occuiTed to the late Mr Templeton, nor 

 have I seen an Irish specimen. 



Snowy Owl — Surnia nyctea, Dumeril. — On June 9, 1835, 1 had 



the satisfaction of communicating an account of the snowy owl's ap- 

 pearance in Ireland to the Zoological Society of London, in whose 

 " proceedings," 1835, p. 78, it subsequently appeared. The follow- 

 ing is a rather more full account, as the limited scope of that most 

 valuable work renders a condensation of matter for its pages quite ne- 

 cessary. 



About the 26th of March 1835, a specimen of this bird was sent 

 in a recent state to Dr Adams of Portglenone, (co. Antrim) by a person 

 who had shot it a few days before in that neighbourhood, and who 

 stated that a similar individual had been seen about the place where 

 it was obtained. The specimen was presented by Dr Adams to the 

 Natural History Society of Belfast. It is immature, agreeing with 

 the figure in Mr Selby's " Illustrations of British Ornithology." 



On the 21st of the same month, as two of my friends were out 

 snipe-shooting at Bruslee, about twenty miles to the south-east of 

 Portglenone, a large white owl, represented by them as twice the size 

 of the common species of that colour (Strix flammea,) rose from the 

 heath within a few yards of one of them, just as he had discharged 

 both barrels at a snipe. His companion fired at it from such a distance, 

 that, with the loss of only a few feathers, it escaped, and afterwards 

 alighted at a short distance. On showing the specimen killed at 

 Portglenone to one of these gentlemen, he recognized it as similar in 

 size and colour to the bird he had seen. 



In Dublin I subsequently saw a snowy owl, which had been shot 

 in the county Mayo, also in the month of March, and am credibly 

 informed, that a few others were obtained about the same time in 

 different parts of Ireland. One may be mentioned as having been 

 received from the county Longford on the 5th of April by a bird- 

 preserver in Dublin. * 



* I have lately heard of the occurrence in Ireland, of three of the rarer species 

 of British Raptores, but have not yet had the facts sufficiently authenticated for 

 introduction here. 



