NYCTALE TENGMALMI. 
Teng’mal Ill’s Owl. 
Strix Tengmalmi, Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 291. 
Noctua Tengmalmi, Cuv. Regn. Anim , edit. 1829, tom. i. p. 345, 
Athene Tengmalmi, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 549. 
Mgoliiis Tengmalmi, Kaup, Natiiid. Syst., p. 34. 
Scotophilus Tengmalmi, Swains. Class, of Birds, vol. ii. p. 217. 
Nyctale Tengmalmi, Bonap. Geog. and Comp. List of Birds of Eur. and N. Amer., p. 7. 
In size and general appearance the Nyctale Tengmalmi Is very similar to Athene noctua-, so much so, says 
Naumann, that superficial observers have confounded It with that bird ; the ornithologist, however, sees at 
a glance that It Is not only specifically but generlcally distinct — the face Is whiter, the facial disk more 
complete, the plumage more dense and silky; the arrangement of the markings is dilferent, and the tarsi 
and toes, instead of being bare, are thickly clothed wdth feathers. The situations the bird affects and 
the countries It iidiabits are also very dilferent ; it keeps to the great primeval forests of spruce and fir 
clothing the mountains of various parts of Europe, particularly those of Norway, Lapland, and Russia ; it is 
true that it Is sparingly found in the central parts of Germany, in Switzerland, and occasionally in England, 
hut its visits to this country must be regarded as purely accidental. Naumann states that it is not 
so wild in its disposition as A. noctua, that it sleeps more soundly during the day, and is not so easily 
aroused and driven from the holes in the trees in which it rests, putting up with a good deal of teasing- 
before it will leave its retreat. Its flight is said to he like that of Otus vulgaris, but with a quicker flapping 
of the w ings. 
Its food consists chiefly of small quadrupeds, particularly w'ood- and field-mice, shrew's, and hats, which 
latter it probably takes while in a state of rest, or when leaving their lurking-places. Naumann says it is a 
true nocturne, and that it retires to its resting-place before sunrise, and remains secluded therein until the 
close of day. 
Mr. H. E. Dresser has kindly furnished me with the following extracts from letters addressed to him 
by his friends and correspondents in the countries mentioned helow' ; and I insert them as an interesting- 
addition to our small stock of knowledge respecting this species. 
Mr. Edward Leidensacher, of Cilli, in Styria, says, “ Nyctale Tengmalmi is very rare here, still it is 
occasionally found nesting. On the 4th May, 1863, I received two fully feathered little ow'ls, taken out of 
the nest the day previous. They were dark brown, whitish round the facial disk ; the wings had whitey- 
grey spots, the bill was bluisb, and their iridqs light yellow. I took care of them, and in the month 
of October they cast off the brown plumage, and became coloured and marked as Tengmalm’s Owls usually 
are. They were taken out of a hollow' tree, on the edge of a wood near Prekorje, about an hour’s 
walk from Cilli. The female must certainly have had eggs in March.” 
Dr. Kutter, of Transtadt, in Posen, wrote on the 27th March, 1867, “ I have found this Owd hreeding 
five times, — twice in 1862, when I obtained three eggs on the 11th of April, and four on the 15th ; and three 
times in 1866, viz. on the 25th of April three eggs Incubated, on the 1st of May four fresh, and on the 
14th of the same month four others also fresh. All were found in holes in trees at the height of about 20 
feet from the ground, chiefly on the pine-thickets on the mountains. 
“ I have never observed the Nyctale Tengmalmi in the low lands, whereas, on the other hand, its relative, 
Athene noctua, occurs there ; and I have never found the latter breeding in the larger forests, but invariably 
in trees, or buildings standing alone in fields or fruit-orchards. As to whether Nyctale Tengmalmi also nests 
in rocks I cannot say from my owm personal observation ; but I have been assured from a most trustworthy 
source that such is exceptionally the case. I have always found the eggs at the bottom of a hole in a tree, 
without any regular nest under them, but sometimes surrounded with a slight wreath of straw's and feathers. 
The bird seems to sit hard, but is not so fearless as Athene noctua, from under which I have several times 
drawn the eggs without apparently disturbing the bird. The number of tbe eggs seems to vary betw'een 
three and four, and not two and three, as is generally stated. As to whether they have a second brood 
I cannot say, as I have always procured the eggs when merely passing through the mountainous part of the 
country.” 
The recorded instances of the occurrence of Tengmalm’s Owl in the British Islands are only six in number — 
five in England, and one in Scotland ; Ireland is not yet able to include it in her avifauna. Ot the five Eng- 
lish examples, tbe first was shot near Morpeth, in Northumberland, in 1812 ; the second, a recently killed 
