350 



tail-coverts white, longitudinally streaked with brown ; feathers of the leg dirty white, slightly marked 

 with brown ; under wing-coverts white, mottled with brown ; bill yellow ; feet brownish yellow ; talons 

 blackish brown ; iris bright yellow. Total length 65 inches, culmen - 55, wing 3 - 9, tail 2'2, 

 tarsus - 5. 



Even at the present day some confusion exists as to the identity of the present species ; and it 

 may therefore be as well to state a few of the differences between it and the Little Owl [Athene 

 noctua), with which it is frequently confounded. As its trivial names of " Dwarf Owl," " Pigmy 

 Owl," " Sparrow-Owl," &c. denote, the present bird is the smallest of the European Strigidce, 

 and is not more than half the size of Athene noctua ; moreover it exhibits well-defined generic 

 differences, and has on that account been placed by us in the genus Glaucidium. In Athene 

 noctua the first quill is about equal to the fifth, reaching not far from the end of the second 

 quill, whereas in 67. passerinum the first quill is very short, only reaching to about half the length 

 of the second. The small size and distinct dark striping of the flanks will also readily distin- 

 guish it. 



Its habitat appears to be throughout the whole of the Northern Palsearctic Region, from 

 Norway to the far east of Siberia. It has even been said to have occurred in England ; but the 

 evidence on this point seems scarcely satisfactory, as there is apparently some confusion between 

 this species and the American Nyctale acadica, also sometimes called the " Sparrow Owl " (cf. 

 Milner, Zoologist, 1860, p. 7104). 



In Norway it is a common bird, as we learn from Mr. E. Collett, who, in his excellent little 

 work on the ' Ornithology of Christiania,' writes as follows : — 



" The Pygmy Owl appears annually in varying numbers, but is, without doubt, as a rule, 

 next to Stria ahtco, the commonest species in the neighbourhood of Christiania. During the 

 summer it frequents both the non-evergreen and coniferous forests, but throughout the winter is 

 found in the vicinity of habitations. When passing through the Castle-park on an autumn or 

 winter evening its short, sharp note, which resembles the iss of the Thrush, may frequently be 

 heard. It is generally answered by another bird in the neighbourhood. It is of a courageous 

 disposition, and seizes its prey, which generally consists of Sparrows or Titmice, on the wing. 

 During the spring it often strikes at decoy birds on the ground, and is thus captured by bird- 

 catchers ; in the autumn also it takes birds from snares. It generally hunts in the morning and 

 evening, sitting quietly on a bough during the rest of the day, and is then, on account of its 

 small size, difficult to see. Some seem to migrate in winter. The nest is placed in hollow aspen 

 trees in the spruce-woods or dense thickets; the eggs are four in number, white, and slightly 

 glossy (of a greenish tinge inside), like other Owl's eggs; the length is 12'"— 13'", breadth 10"'." 



Respecting its habits in Sweden, we translate the following communication from Mr. C. W. 

 Lundborg to the ' Svenska Jagarforbundets Nya Tidskrift,' 1863, p. 177 : — 



" This pretty Little Owl, which is generally considered to be rare, occurs rather abundantly 

 in the northern portion of Ostergotland, in the large forests. If even the bird itself is not so 

 generally known, the inhabitants of the woods, at least, know its whistling note hy or ho, 

 and call the bird drpinnen (the oar rowlock) and hjulnalen (the axle-head), as the note 

 resembles the harsh sound of an ungreased axle-head in a wheel. Besides this monotonous note 

 hy, it has also another note, hy ho, ho, ho, the shorter syllables of which can, however, only be 



