268 



which had been brought to M. Blanc, a taxidermist, in the autumn of 1886, and later, when 

 at Tripoli, a Turk brought to him a live bird of this species which he purchased and took back 

 to Germany with him. 



On a subsequent journey to Algiers he again met with this Owl, and writes (J. f. Orn. 1895, 

 p. 172) as follows : — "We did not find this Owl common. On an expedition we took from 

 Waregla to the Djebel Khina on the 7th April I saw in a cleft in the rocks droppings of this 

 Owl, and found pellets before a dark hole. "We searched carefully for the bird, but could not 

 drive it out of its hiding-place. My brother-in-law had pushed forward into a deep cleft, and 

 had just secured an interesting Bat (Otonycteris hemprichi, Peters). I had sent the muleteer 

 Achmed up above to try and get at a Buzzard's nest we had found, and whilst waiting to see what 

 came out we heard Achmed utter a cry, and the same moment saw a large Owl dash past us. 

 My brother-in-law took a snap-shot and brought the Owl down with a charge of no. 14. I had 

 the place out of which the Owl had been driven pointed out to me, and searched every cranny 

 and crack for the eggs, for the bird was an old female and must have been sitting on ggs or 

 young birds ; but though we searched everywhere we did not find the eggs. I had crept under a 

 huge rock and tried everywhere to find the nest. In this uncomfortable place I could scarcely 

 move, and had to get my brother-in-law to pull me out by the legs, and was glad enough to see 

 daylight once more. I saw a second quite useless specimen of this Owl in the ditch surrounding 

 the fortress of Khroubs." 



Audouin states (Expl. somm. etc. p. 328) that it occurs in Egypt, Asia Minor, Persia, and 

 Turkey; but I cannot find any record of its occurrence outside Africa, except in Sinai and 

 Palestine. 



In Egypt it is tolerably common, and is found as far south as Abyssinia. According to 

 Von Heuglin (Orn. N.O.-Afr. i. p. 112), "This Eagle-Owl frequents ruins and rocky gorges in 

 Egypt. We met with it, for instance, near Djizeh and in the valley of the Royal Tombs near 

 Thebes. It is a resident and usually met with in pairs, and, like most of its congeners, it leaves 

 its hiding-place on the approach of night and feeds on chiroptera, mice, desert-rats, and such like. 

 It ranges southward to Central Nubia. It breeds in March and April, and its nest is placed in 

 clefts of rocks or ancient Egyptian tombs, and contains two or three very round, oviform, pure 

 white eggs, 1" 10"' to 2" long by 1" 8'" to 1" 9'" broad. I have only met with this Owl in ruins 

 and rocks, never on trees ; when taken young it soon becomes very tame. The nestlings are 

 covered with brownish-grey down." Captain Shelley and Mr. E. Cavendish Taylor both give 

 similar information relative to its occurrence in Egypt, where, they say, it is a resident,- 

 frequenting mountain-gorges and ruins, and the latter gentleman obtained its eggs in March. 



Mr. Jesse, naturalist to the Abyssinian Expedition, obtained a specimen near Senafe, and saw 

 another, which, however, he did not succeed in getting. He subsequently saw a live specimen 

 which had been brought down from Magdala, where, he was told, this Owl is plentiful. How 

 far it is met with down the Eed Sea I cannot positively say, but here it meets with a tolerably 

 closely allied form, Bubo milesi, which I have obtained from the Eed Sea, and may possibly be 

 met with within the limits of the Palsearctic area. 



Mr. Wyatt remarks that he never met with or heard of Bubo ascalaphus on the peninsula of 

 Sinai ; but it certainly occurs as far north as Palestine, where, according to Canon Tristram, it 



