﻿42 
  

  

  BIRDS. 
  

  

  Rosehall 
  and 
  Dunrobin 
  and 
  the 
  large 
  woods 
  thereabouts. 
  St. 
  

   John, 
  however, 
  spoke 
  of 
  ' 
  Owls 
  ' 
  as 
  being 
  very 
  numerous 
  and 
  hoot- 
  

   ing 
  much 
  at 
  night 
  around 
  Rosehall, 
  when 
  he 
  was 
  residing 
  there 
  in 
  

   the 
  late 
  forties. 
  Many 
  were 
  caught 
  in 
  pole-traps, 
  which 
  instru- 
  

   ments 
  of 
  torture, 
  however, 
  he 
  ordered 
  to 
  be 
  disused, 
  in 
  compassion 
  

   for 
  the 
  poor 
  birds 
  : 
  he 
  did 
  not 
  state 
  the 
  species 
  (vide 
  St. 
  John's 
  

   Sport 
  in 
  Moray, 
  under 
  the 
  chapter 
  'Life 
  at 
  Rosehall.') 
  St. 
  John 
  

   also 
  says 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  rare 
  in 
  the 
  neighbourhood 
  

   of 
  Elgin. 
  We 
  have 
  notes 
  of 
  it 
  from 
  Guisachan, 
  Invergarry, 
  

   etc. 
  

  

  The 
  Tawny 
  Owl 
  certainly 
  appears 
  to 
  outnumber 
  the 
  Long-eared 
  

   Owl, 
  at 
  least 
  in 
  some 
  parts 
  of 
  Moray 
  Basin 
  ; 
  and 
  these, 
  we 
  fancy, 
  

   are 
  where 
  pine 
  woods 
  occupy 
  large 
  areas, 
  and 
  where 
  deep 
  cloven 
  

   rocks 
  and 
  gullies 
  are 
  interspersed. 
  So 
  at 
  least 
  would 
  the 
  numerous 
  

   lists 
  in 
  our 
  possession 
  indicate. 
  

  

  The 
  Tawny 
  Owl 
  occurs 
  not 
  only 
  in 
  the 
  woods 
  and 
  wooded 
  

   glens 
  among 
  the 
  foot-hills 
  of 
  the 
  Carn 
  district 
  of 
  Spey, 
  but 
  far 
  

   up 
  close 
  under 
  Braeriach, 
  whence 
  specimens 
  have 
  been 
  sent 
  to 
  

   Macleay, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  common 
  in 
  Upper 
  Badenoch. 
  

  

  On 
  one 
  occasion, 
  when 
  Brown 
  of 
  Forres 
  was 
  preparing 
  a 
  

   specimen 
  of 
  the 
  Tawny 
  Owl, 
  he 
  found 
  a 
  whole 
  greenfinch, 
  almost 
  

   perfect, 
  in 
  its 
  stomach. 
  He 
  adds 
  the 
  remark, 
  'The 
  owl 
  must 
  

   have 
  had 
  great 
  difficulty 
  in 
  swallowing 
  it 
  whole 
  ' 
  ! 
  Yes, 
  we 
  con- 
  

   clude 
  so, 
  and 
  therefore 
  that 
  the 
  principal 
  food-supplies 
  of 
  the 
  

   species 
  do 
  not 
  consist 
  of 
  birds, 
  but 
  of 
  the 
  smaller 
  mammalia, 
  

   although 
  during 
  migration 
  nights 
  at 
  lighthouses 
  owls 
  are 
  well 
  

   known 
  to 
  feast 
  freely 
  on 
  small 
  birds, 
  dashing 
  inside 
  the 
  glare, 
  

   seizing 
  with 
  swift 
  clutch, 
  and 
  again 
  disappearing 
  into 
  the 
  

   darkness. 
  

  

  Nyctea 
  scandiaca 
  (L.). 
  Snowy 
  Owl. 
  

  

  A 
  very 
  rare 
  bird 
  in 
  any 
  part 
  of 
  our 
  area. 
  In 
  the 
  extreme 
  north, 
  one 
  

   was 
  killed 
  at 
  Achintoul, 
  in 
  the 
  parish 
  of 
  Kildonan, 
  but 
  we 
  have 
  

   no 
  further 
  notes 
  of 
  its 
  capture 
  than 
  what 
  we 
  have 
  given 
  in 
  the 
  

   Fauna 
  of 
  Sutherland 
  and 
  Caithness, 
  p. 
  162. 
  

  

  St. 
  John, 
  in 
  his 
  Wild 
  Sports 
  and 
  Natural 
  History 
  of 
  Moray, 
  

   p. 
  209, 
  says 
  : 
  — 
  ' 
  The 
  Snowy 
  Owl 
  (Nyctea 
  nivea), 
  a 
  magnificent 
  bird, 
  

   is 
  an 
  occasional, 
  though 
  a 
  rare, 
  visitor 
  here. 
  I 
  have 
  known 
  more 
  

   than 
  one 
  instance 
  of 
  its 
  being 
  seen 
  and 
  killed 
  on 
  the 
  sea-coast 
  of 
  

  

  