92 Otll^ITHOLOGICAL l^OTlJS. By G. BOLAM 



by Mr Leyland, whose example in this respect might with 

 advantage be followed by other land owners. As is well 

 known, these birds approach the diurnal birds of prey more 

 closely than most owls in their manner of seeking food in 

 broad daylight, and it was a pretty sight to see those at 

 Haggerston quartering their ground in the most regular 

 fashion. I suspect, however, that their powers of vision 

 may not have been quite equal to the strong light of a 

 midsummer sun, as otherwise it seemed difficult to account 

 for the many false stoops which the owls made ; flying at 

 a height of from six to ten feet over the grass, they seemed 

 to be constantly dropping into it without result. Though 

 a mouse may, no doubt, on some of these occasions have 

 been able to elude the owl's grasp, still, after close observa- 

 tion, I could not help fancying that many a time the 

 supposed mouse must have turned out to be only a stone 

 or other non-edible substance. 



Whether or not these owls bred at Haggerston I was not 

 able to satisfy myself; no nest was seen, and soon after the 

 end of June they disappeared. One of them at least fell 

 a victim to the zeal of a neighbouring keeper, who feared 

 for his young pheasants. One of the owls was a very pale 

 coloured bird — in fact, almost creamy white — and I thought 

 at first that it mi<^ht have been a young one ; but Hall, the 

 head keeper at Haggerston, told me that it had frequented 

 the place through the previous autumn, and had often been 

 put up on shooting days, when they were beating the young 

 plantations. 



In the early part of November there was a considerable 

 flight of Short-eared Owls to Holy Island, many of which 

 remained about the links for several weeks. I saw one 

 there as late as 29th January 1899, hawking over the fields 

 during the afternoon, and two others were seen a few days 

 later. 



Hawfinch. Coccothranstes vulgaris, Pallis. 



One was reported to me as having been seen at Holy 

 Island in the early part of November 1897, and to have 

 remained there for several days ; another was killed at Felton 

 Park during the same winter, as I have been obligingly 



