Birds. 



8035 



on a low rocky ledge not far from Baltasound. The young were u of 

 a brown colour, sprinkled with gray." 



The food usually consists of rabbits and small birds, which are 

 almost invariably swallowed whole. In the stomach of one I found 

 an entire rabbit, so large that it was a matter of astonishment to me 

 how it had passed the mouth of the bird, although most of the large 

 bones were broken. While at rest during the day its favourite haunts 

 are exposed hills covered with large stones, upon the shaded side of 

 which it crouches, and although often difficult to [approach on such 

 occasions, its sense of hearing being very acute, it is nevertheless 

 sometimes come upon unawares. A man in this island once crept up 

 and knocked one over with his stick, injuring it so little that he carried 

 it home and kept it alive for some time. Now and then, too, we hear 

 of boys pelting one with stones. When an individual is known to 

 have arrived in this island it is nearly sure to be discovered by any 

 person who will carefully explore certain hills which have always been 

 preferred before all other situations. These hills are strewn with large 

 gray stones, intermixed with a few long-shaped white ones. I know 

 several which have more than once been carefully stalked by the 

 would-be owl slayer, and I could point out one of the latter in parti- 

 cular who has very often been thus deceived. But after all such an 

 error may be in some degree excusable, for the bird is exceedingly 

 difficult to discover while resting in such situations, so closely assimi- 

 lating as it does in colour with the surrounding stones, and any person 

 who resolved to walk up to everything bearing a resemblance to the 

 object of his search, would require for his purpose a large amount of 

 patience, a very long pair of legs, and a very long day indeed. In 

 the immediate neighbourhood of its most frequented places of retire- 

 ment large pellets of bones, skins and feathers may often be discovered. 

 I have never heard of a single instance in which it has been met with 

 upon the hills at night. It leaves them about sunset, and descends 

 to the low grounds, returning next morning. In these islands the hill- 

 tops are very frequently covered with snow, from which, in the day- 

 time, a glare proceeds which is painful enough to human eyes, and, 

 under such circumstances, more especially in climates still further 

 north, the bird doubtless experiences no little benefit from the exceed- 

 ingly perfct nictitating apparatus with which the eye is provided. 



Much discussion has from time to time arisen concerning the feeding 

 habits of this species, some -observers maintaining that it seeks its 

 prey by daylight only, while others as warmly contend that it is ex- 

 clusively a night-feeder ; but into this, as into most other arguments 



