447 
Mr. J. H. Gurney on Pel’s Owl. 
sented to me by Col. O’Connor, but it having unfortunately 
died before I received it, I am unable to say to what species it 
belonged. 
With reference to the habitat of “ Ashantee” assigned to this 
species by Prince C. L. Bonaparte, it is proper to observe, that 
Dr.Hartlaub, in his work f On the Birds of West Africa ’ (p.18), 
refers to the specimen in the Leyden Museum as having been 
brought from Bio Boutry. Other specimens from the River 
Camma are mentioned in Mr. Cassin’s list of birds collected 
by M. Duchaillu, in the c Proceedings of the Academy of 
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia ’ for the present year, p.32. 
Besides these, the subject of the present notice is, I believe, the 
only other individual of this species the occurrence of which has 
as yet been recorded. The Barra Country, from which it was ob¬ 
tained, is stated in i Fullarton’s Gazetteer ’ to lie “ on the north 
bank of the Gambia, extending about 18 leagues along the coast, 
with a breadth of 14 leagues/’ and is therefore considerably to 
the north of the localities from which the two previous specimens 
were obtained. 
Catton Hall, Norwich, 
27th Sept. 1859. 
Memorandum by Col. O’Connor , C.B., Lieut.-Col. 1st W.I.Regt. 
“ Sketch of Nero, the Owl, a f Feetish Bird/ from the River 
Gambia, Western coast of Africa. 
“ During seven years’ exploration of Western Africa, I only 
met one of the species of the Owl ‘ Nero.’ He was brought 
f a chicken’ full of pen-feathers, or rather down, of a delicate 
straw-colour, and very thick, from a lagoon in the Barra Coun¬ 
try. No native would admit ‘Nero’ as a visitor; and when the 
bird was installed in Government House, the servants and head 
people came in a body to remonstrate, asserting e he was a Gumbi 
owl, a ‘ Feetish’! ! !, and would destroy and kill whatever object 
he looked on.’ The chief groom (an old soldier, who had charge 
of the poultry) insisted that e every cock and hen would go dead.’ 
Strangely enough, an epidemic broke out, and carried off fifty to 
sixty head of fowls; and each day the groom placed the defunct 
