11 
an opportunity occurs for shooting the old birds. This is some¬ 
times but too easily accomplished, as they continue bringing prey 
to the tethered captive long after it should have been hunting the 
moors on its own account. From a published list of “vermin’' 
destroyed by Lord Ailsa's keepers, within a limited area, between 
25th June, 1850, and 25th November, 1854, we find that 310 
“ asli-coloured hawks ” were killed in that interval.* 
Montagu’s Harrier ( Circus Montagui). 
Our only authority for recording this species is a notice by the 
late Mr Thompson in his “Birds of Ireland,” vol. i., p. 83, where 
it is stated that a specimen—a male bird—was shot on a moor 
near Ballantrae in 1836. 
STEIGIDJE. 
The Long-eared Owl (Otus vulgaris). 
Sparingly distributed in Ayrshire, and some parts of Wigtown¬ 
shire, frequenting fir woods, especially where the trees are of 
some age. As a rule, this species is characteristic of the eastern 
side of Scotland. 
The Short-eared Owl ( Otus bmchyotos). 
Well known in the higher grounds, where it probably breeds, 
although we have not heard of any authentic discovery of its nest 
of late years. It formerly bred on the moors above Portpatrick. 
This bird occasionally takes voluntary flights by day, and appears 
to hunt over turnip and potato fields in quest of field mice, thus 
proving itself a useful friend to the farmer. 
The White or Barn Owl (Strix flammea). 
This beautiful owl is not uncommon, taking up its abode in 
ruined castles, which are numerously scattered throughout Ayr¬ 
shire. Some of these ruins are situated in very romantic places 
* To show the ignorant and indiscriminate nature of the slaughter referred 
to, we may state that the list likewise includes thirty-three “Fern Owls,” 
catalogued as offenders, with Brown Owls, Horned Owls, and Barn Owls—all 
innocent of the destructive propensities ascribed to them. Making the usual 
allowance for the proverbial diligence of keepers in general, we cannot but 
regard the destruction of the poor Nightjar as the result of a melancholy, but 
fortunately unusual, ignorance of the bird’s habits. 
