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  THE 
  VERTEBRATE 
  FAUNA 
  OF 
  " 
  DEE." 
  

  

  " 
  Dee." 
  In 
  1859 
  a 
  pair 
  bred 
  in 
  an 
  old 
  dove-cot 
  at 
  Haddo, 
  

   parish 
  of 
  Forgue. 
  March 
  12th, 
  1890, 
  a 
  female 
  was 
  killed 
  at 
  

   Tillyfourie, 
  Vale 
  of 
  Alford. 
  August 
  29th, 
  1891, 
  one 
  was 
  killed 
  

   at 
  Dyce. 
  October 
  14th, 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  year, 
  one 
  was 
  killed 
  by 
  

   Mr. 
  George 
  Walker, 
  Woodside, 
  Scoltie, 
  Banchory. 
  On 
  January 
  

   15th, 
  1892, 
  one 
  was 
  killed 
  at 
  Rattray; 
  and 
  on 
  February 
  15th, 
  

   1895, 
  one 
  was 
  caught 
  alive 
  on 
  a 
  corn-stack 
  at 
  Portlethen. 
  

   The 
  day 
  following 
  one 
  was 
  shot 
  near 
  Don-mouth. 
  

  

  The 
  above-mentioned 
  all 
  passed 
  through 
  my 
  hands. 
  The 
  

   Barn 
  Owl 
  has 
  also 
  bred 
  for 
  several 
  years 
  under 
  a 
  railway 
  

   bridge 
  near 
  Drumlithie. 
  In 
  recording 
  occurrences 
  of 
  this 
  

   species, 
  care 
  has 
  to 
  be 
  taken 
  to 
  find 
  out 
  if 
  the 
  informant 
  is 
  

   acquainted 
  with 
  what 
  he 
  speaks 
  of, 
  because 
  I 
  have 
  often 
  had 
  

   reports 
  given 
  me 
  of 
  the 
  Barn 
  Owl 
  having 
  been 
  seen 
  and 
  

   killed, 
  which 
  turned 
  out 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  Tawny 
  Owl 
  instead, 
  the 
  

   name 
  " 
  Barn 
  Owl 
  " 
  being 
  often 
  given 
  to 
  the 
  Tawny. 
  

  

  A 
  specimen 
  of 
  the 
  Danish 
  form 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  was 
  killed 
  

   near 
  New 
  Deer 
  on 
  6th 
  November, 
  1886, 
  and 
  was 
  sent 
  to 
  

   Mr. 
  William 
  Mathers, 
  Aberdeen, 
  in 
  whose 
  possession 
  I 
  saw 
  it; 
  

   and 
  on 
  November 
  23rd, 
  1897, 
  a 
  female 
  was 
  killed 
  at 
  Port- 
  

   lethen, 
  and 
  brought 
  to 
  me. 
  

  

  Strix 
  otus, 
  Linn. 
  Long-eared 
  Owl. 
  

  

  One 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  abundant 
  Owls 
  we 
  have 
  in 
  " 
  Dee." 
  

   Resident 
  ; 
  and 
  breeds 
  over 
  the 
  whole 
  district 
  where 
  it 
  can 
  

   find 
  a 
  suitable 
  habitat, 
  and 
  there 
  are 
  many. 
  It 
  is 
  pitiful 
  to 
  

   think 
  of 
  the 
  treatment 
  that 
  is 
  meted 
  out 
  to 
  this 
  most 
  useful 
  

   bird. 
  Dozens 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  brought 
  to 
  me 
  every 
  season, 
  many 
  

   of 
  which 
  have 
  done 
  little 
  more 
  than 
  leave 
  the 
  nest, 
  and 
  whose 
  

   stomachs 
  in 
  every 
  case 
  contain 
  the 
  remains 
  of 
  mice. 
  Still, 
  

   keepers 
  and 
  farmers 
  — 
  indeed, 
  every 
  person 
  in 
  possession 
  of 
  a 
  

   gun 
  — 
  shoot 
  down 
  every 
  one 
  they 
  see. 
  

  

  Strix 
  brachyotus, 
  Forster. 
  Short-eared 
  Owl. 
  

  

  A 
  regular 
  autumn 
  visitor 
  to 
  " 
  Dee," 
  at 
  which 
  time 
  it 
  is 
  to 
  

   be 
  found 
  in 
  turnip 
  fields 
  and 
  marshy 
  ground, 
  and 
  in 
  which 
  

   places 
  it 
  is 
  often 
  killed. 
  

  

  Gray 
  records 
  a 
  nest 
  with 
  three 
  eggs 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  having 
  

   been 
  found 
  in 
  Aberdeenshire 
  on 
  the 
  8th 
  of 
  April, 
  1868. 
  

  

  