Natural History of Ireland. 177 



Long-eared Owl — Otus vulgaris, Flem. — Occurs throughout 

 Ireland, and is resident. Where a sufficient extent of wood exists in 

 Down and Antrim, it is a common species, and is remarked by a cor- 

 respondent to be " not uncommon" in Tipperary. It is considered 

 rare in Donegal.* 



I have known this species to be shot in the dusk of the evening-, a 

 mile from high- water- mark, in Belfast Bay, by a person waiting in a 

 barrel (sunk in the ooze) for the dying of widgeon. The white owl 

 has in several instances been obtained by these shooters. 



An individual, well acquainted with the long-eared owl, informs me, 

 that in a close plantation of spruce firs (Abies communis) at Scout- 

 bush, near Carrickfergus, be for several years had its nests, which, in 

 consequence of the trees being young, were placed not higher than 

 six feet from the ground. 



The Rev. Thomas Knox, in a letter to me, mentions the conteuts 

 of the stomach of a long-eared owl, shot at Killaloe, to be " part of a 

 rat, the skull of a mouse, and the heads of two sparrows." A spar- 

 row almost entire was found in the stomach of one examined by 

 myself. 



Short-eared Owe — Otus brachyotos, Flem. — This species is one 

 of our regular winter visitants in the north of Ireland. October the 

 13th is the earliest date of its occurrence to me. It has been added 

 to the birds of Donegal by Mr Stewart, since the publication of his 

 catalogue, and its migration in winter to the mountains of Wexford 

 and Tipperary has been communicated to me. 



I have several times met with, and shot this owl in the neighbour- 

 hood of Belfast, and invariably in wet and boggy places, where snipes 

 might be expected. One of these owls being only wounded, afforded 

 me the opportunity of observing the exceeding brilliancy and depth of 

 its golden eyes. In the stomach of a specimen examined on the 16th 

 December last, I was surprised to find the legs of a purre (Tringa 

 variabilis,) as the localities frequented by the two species at this sea- 

 son are generally very different. 



White-Owl — Strix Jlammea, Linn. — This beautiful species is 

 the most common owl in Ireland. I have had the following evidence 

 of its regular flight to some distance from its domicile, just as twilight 

 commences. Near Belfast there is a considerable extent of low-lying 

 meadows, which are flooded by heavy rains, and at such times are re- 



* Mag. Nat. Hist. Vol. v- p. 581. 



