50 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BERMUDAS. 



November 22nd, 1847. — Examined a small Owl, which 

 flew on board the schooner "Robert" — Williams, master 

 — on the 14th inst, while on her voyage from Halifax, 

 Nova Scotia, to these islands. The vessel was in latitude 

 41" 10', and longitude 63 40' — at the time, the wind blowing 

 very fresh from the south-west. This Owl was alive when 

 I first saw it, but so weak it could hardly stand, and it 

 died the following day. It was olive brown on all the 

 upper parts — the head being thickly dotted with spots 

 and blotches of white ; disk, ashen grey; a dark ring rises 

 immediately over each eye, forming two semi-circles, 

 which meet in a point at the chin ; a dark spot between 

 the eye and the bill ; bill, dusky yellow, and lightest 

 towards the tip ; claws, black ; irides, yellow ; tail and 

 wings, apparently of equal length, but the former was 

 much injured by confinement on board ship, and some- 

 thing must be allowed for the loss in measuring the length 

 of the bird ; primaries, when extended, exhibiting four or 

 five rows of white spots or bars ; tail, marked with four 

 transverse bars of spots, like those upon the wings ; lower 

 parts, mottled grey and brown — each feather being 

 marked longitudinally with brown in its centre ; no white 

 about the neck or lower portion of the body ; legs and 

 toes, thickly covered with downy feathers' of a grey colour 

 mottled with brown ; length, eight and a half inches. 



I consider this to be the Ulula acadica, or Acadian 

 Night Owl, and though not actually a visitant to these 

 islands, it was doubtless on its southern course when fallen 

 in with by the " Robert," and provided no westerly gale 

 had drifted it to the shores of Europe, it might have been 

 entitled to a place in our list of birds. 



November 27th, 1847. — Was shown another fine speci- 

 men of the Larus occidentalis, or Western Gull, shot by 



