241 



(Ibis, 1865, p. 15) that it nests only occasionally in Ross and Caithness; and Mr. Havvie-Brown 

 adds that the same remark may apply to Sutherland also. It breeds now and again on the south 

 shore of Loch Assynt ; and he saw it in August near Loch Inver and around the shores of Loch 

 Letteressee, a branch of Loch Assynt. Low states that it used to breed in Hoy, but it has not 

 recently been seen in the Orkneys ; and Mr. Robert Gray only records it from Mull and Islay, in 

 the Hebrides. It has not been observed in Shetland; nor has it been found in Iceland, the 

 Faeroes, or Norway ; and until, comparatively speaking, lately it was only regarded as a very rare 

 straggler to Sweden. Nilsson (Skand. Fauna, i. p. 134) only cites one occurrence, viz. that of 

 an example shot on a vessel in the harbour of Ystad in October 1834 ; but Mr. Meves says that 

 in the autumn of 1866 and spring of 1867 five were obtained, three of which are preserved at 

 Malmo, and two at Lund ; and Collin states that, according to Professor Wahlgren, it has of 

 late years beco'me more abundant in Skane, and nests not unfrequently in the church-towers 

 near Malmo. It is not found in Finland, and is but rare in Central Russia. Daniloff states that 

 it is resident in the OrlofT Government ; but I do not find any mention of its occurrence in the 

 Ural. In Poland it is said to be tolerably numerous ; and in North Germany it is resident, 

 though scarcely to be called abundant. When collecting in Pomerania I have seen both the light 

 and the dark form ; but, so far as I recollect, the white form is much the commoner of the two in 

 Western Germany. One of the darkest I ever saw I obtained some years ago near Stettin ; and 

 as I mounted it instead of making a skin of it, I subsequently exchanged it away. Naumann 

 describes the dark form, and speaks of the pale one as a variety. 



In Denmark, according to Mr. Collin, the present species is resident, and abundant in some 

 localities. He states that it occurs on Sylt and Fohr, Lolland vEro, and Odense, and he found 

 it breeding in Velflingo, Vigerslev, Siinderso, Torup, Broby, Skamby, Norup, and Krogsbolle 

 churches. He further says that it has been noticed in Northern Jutland and Zeeland, and he 

 has seen nearly full-grown young birds taken close to Copenhagen. In Holland and Belgium 

 the present species is tolerably common and sedentary ; and the same may be said respecting its 

 occurrence in France and Portugal, where both the dark and light forms are met with. In 

 Spain, according to Lord Lilford, Mr. Howard Saunders, and Colonel Irby, it is found throghout 

 the year ; and the last of these gentlemen states that it nests in the Moorish castle at Gibraltar. 

 It is abundant at all seasons in Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia ; and in Malta, according to Mr. Wright 

 (Ibis, 1864, p. 49), "a few are to be seen at all seasons, for the most part about the battlements 

 of Valetta and the Three Cities, where they breed in the ruined walls. Fresh arrivals appear to 

 take place in spring and autumn. They are sometimes observed to strike at fish like an Osprey." 



Dr. Fritsch records it from Bohemia; Messrs. Danford and Harvie-Brown met with it in 

 Transylvania, where, they say, it is becoming gradually scarcer than it used to be ; and I was told 

 when on the Lower Danube that it occurs there ; but Messrs. Elwes and Buckley did not observe 

 it in Turkey. Von der Miihle states that he obtained one caught at Palamides, near Nauplia ; 

 but Dr. Kriiper informs me that it has not been noticed of late years in Greece; and Lord 

 Lilford also remarks (Ibis, 1860, p. 133) that he never saw or heard of it on the mainland of 

 Greece, though it is common on the island of Corfu, where it breeds in the old fortifications 

 about the town. In Southern Russia this Owl is rather rare than otherwise, occurring, as else- 

 where, near habitations ; but it is also occasionally found in the arid steppes. It would appear 



