MR. R. J. W. PURDY ON THE LUMINOSITY OF THE WHITE OWL. 547 
VII. 
THE OCCASIONAL LUMINOSITY OF THE 
WHITE OWL (STRIX FLAMMEA). 
By R. J. W. Purdy. 
Read 25th February , 1908. 
This subject is engaging the attention of many residents in 
North Norfolk where, as I shall hope to show, undoubted 
testimony exists to prove that there are two birds — almost 
certainly Owls — in this district which exhibit this hitherto 
unrecorded phenomenon. 
From the desire, which I hope is shared by every genuine 
naturalist, to preserve the life of any creature whose habits 
are still under investigation, and especially of one which is 
known to conduce so greatly to the benefit of the agriculturist, 
I have hitherto, for obvious reasons, carefully abstained from 
giving my own name, or the locality, in which the observations 
now to be recorded have been made. Owing to this reticence 
on my part, insinuations have been made that the whole thing 
is a practical joke ; I therefore think the time has arrived for 
me to make a full statement of the facts, with the names of 
those persons who have seen the birds in question. I feel 
persuaded that if further investigation be judiciously pursued 
it will tend to dissipate much of the error and superstition 
which still linger in our rural population, for I am inclined 
to believe that most of the tales respecting “ will-o’-th’- 
wisps,” “ corpse-candles,” and “ lantern-men,” are the result 
of occasional luminosity assumed by birds of nocturnal habits 
that frequently fly over marshy ground in search of prey, 
