p. 9020) a fourteenth English example taken at Flam-
borough in October, 1863. Mr. Robert Gray mentions the
occurrence of three specimens in Scotland: one killed in
Sutherland in 1847, one in Orkney in 1851 and the third
caught alive on Cramond Island in the Firth of Forth in
December, 1860. In Ireland it does not seem to have
occurred.
This little Owl inhabits thick forests in Norway, Sweden
and Russia, even in very high northern latitudes, but though
its eastern limits cannot be precisely stated, it would seem
not to extend very far into Siberia. Dr. William Carte obtained
it in the Crimea. In parts of Denmark it is said
to occur not uncommonly and to frequent the churches.
In Holstein, Boie states that it is a regular autumnal
migrant, arriving with the Woodcocks. Though local it is
well known throughout the larger forests of Central Europe.
Lord Lilford saw the skin of one which he was assured had
been shot in Corfu, and Dr. Lindermayer states that it occurs
though rarely in the northern parts of Greece. Egypt has
been given as a locality for this species, but apparently in
error, since Mr. G. R. Gray has kindly forwarded the information
that a specimen in the British Museum, on which
the statement seems to rest, had been wrongly determined.
Tengmalm’s Owl inhabits the Alpine forests of Italy, Switzerland
and south-eastern France, while it also occasionally
occurs on the Yosges and in the Ardennes.
Not much if anything very satisfactory was known respecting
the breeding-habits of this species until Wolley announced
to the Zoological Society in 1857, that in Lapland it lays its
eggs in holes of trees or in the nest-boxes which are set up
by the inhabitants for the Golden-eye Ducks; and once
established it is not easily made to leave its quarters, being
able, it is said, to keep possession against a much larger
bird. The eggs are smooth and white, four or five in
number, and measure from 1-43 to 1-15 by 1’09 by -98 in.,
an exceptionally small one being only *76 by -68 in. The
food of this Owl consists of mice and large beetles. Its
call-note is said to be a very musical, soft whistle.
In America this species is represented by the closely-allied
Nyctala richarclsoni, which is smaller and not so much
spotted.*
The beak is yellowish-white; the irides yellow; the top
of the head, nape, back and wings cliocolate-brown, with
minute white spots on the top of the head, and larger white
patches on the back and wing-coverts; some smaller white
spots on the lower or distal part of the outer web of the
wing-feathers are arranged so as to give the appearance of
bands; tail-feathers clove-brown above and greyish-white
beneath, with soiled white spots forming interrupted b a rs ;
tail-feathers extending nearly an inch beyond the ends of the
wings. Facial disk soiled white; round the eyes a dark
ring forming a band, which is broadest on the inner side ;
the ends of the feathers extending over and hiding the base
and sides of the b eak ; neck, breast and belly greyish-white,
indistinctly barred and spotted with clove-brown ; under tail-
coverts dull-white without spots; tarsi and toes covered with
soiled white feathers, slightly speckled with brown; claws
black. The whole length of the bird is from eight and a
half to nine inches.
The kindness of Herr Robert Collett of Christiania in
communicating to the Editor a description of the skull of
this species, together with an illustrative specimen, enables
him to mention briefly the extraordinary fact that the
asymmetry displayed by the region of the ears in Tengmalm’s
Owl extends to the configuration of the skull. It
had already been stated by Dr. Kaup (Transactions of the
Zoological Society, vol. iv. p. 206) that the ear-orifices in
the Owls of this genus were asymmetrical; but, so far as the
Editor is aware, no one had suspected that the irregularity
was more than skin-deep. Herr Collett’s observations on
this subject will doubtless be immediately laid before the
public, and it would be unfair to the discoverer of this, at
present, unique feature in the structure of birds, to anticipate
them here.
* The late Sir William Milner recorded (Zool. p. 7 1 0 4 ) the supposed occurrence,
near Beverley in Yorkshire, of another allied American species, the N. acctclica.