nothing whatever of its natural habits in freedom from
personal observation, I refrain from further quotations.
I received eight of these Owls alive from Helsingfors in
July 1888, one of which is represented in accompanying
Plate. These birds are very fearless and savage, very
quarrelsome amongst themselves, always wide-awake
and ready for food, and constantly uttering a very
melancholy and unpleasant cry. The N. American race
of Hawk-Owl, which has been described as a distinct
species by some ornithologists, differs principally from
the European form in the broader and redder colour of
the transverse bars on the underparts, but, in my humble
opinion, is in no way worthy of specific separation therefrom
; it appears that the majority of the Hawk-Owls
that have been captured in Great Britain belong to this
American race.
