336 



8 



still more difficult to pass the night in happy unconsciousness even of ornithological sounds. 

 It remains in these countries all the year round, breeding in the hollow trees in the gardens, 

 orchards, or cemeteries. It lays five to six eggs about the end of May." 



I possess a series of the eggs of the Scops Owl, obtained in Spain and Styria, which are 

 roundish in shape, pure white in colour, the surface of the shell smooth, but with scarcely any 

 gloss. In size they vary from 1^ by l^ to l^g- by \\% inch. 



The specimen figured is an adult male from Seville in my own collection, and is the bird 

 above described. 



In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens : — 



E Mus. H. E. Dresser. 



a, d ad. Seville, April 30th, 1871 {Lord Lilford). b, $ . Casa de Campo, Madrid, April 17th, 1865 (Lilford). 

 c. Malta market, December 1863 (C. A. Wright), d, 6. Gallenhofen, S. Styria, May 20th, 1872 {Ritter 

 von Tschusi-Schmidhofen). e, d . Ortakeuy valley, Turkey, September 19th, 1871 (Robson). 



E Mus. Howard Saunders. 



a,d,b,2- Seville, April 20th, 1868 {H. S.). c, ? . Malaga, June 16th, 1869. d, ? . Granada, June 20th, 

 1870. e, f, g, juv. Granada, July 14th, 1871. h, i, pulli. Granada, June 28tb, 1870. j,k,6$. 

 Valencia, April 1873. 



