Page:The Natural History of Ireland vol1.djvu/120

 lished respecting Irish specimens, nothing is now to be added. — I can only bring together what has before appeared.

On June 9, 1835, I had the satisfaction of communicating the first notice of the occurrence of the snowy owl in Ireland to the Zoological Society of London, in whose Proceedings, (1835, p. 78,) it was subsequently published. About the 26th of March, 1835, a specimen of this bird was sent in a recent state to Dr. Adams of Portglenone, county of Antrim, by a person who had shot it a few days before in that neighbourhood, and who stated that a similar individual had been seen about the place where it was obtained. The specimen was presented by Dr. Adams to the Natural History Society of Belfast. It was immature, agreeing with the figure in Mr. Selby's Illustrations of British Orni- thology.

On the 21st of the same month, as two of my friends were snipe-shooting at Bruslee, about twenty miles to the south-east of Portglenone, a large white owl, represented by them as twice the size of the common species of that colour (Strix flammea), rose from the heath within a few yards of one of them, just as he had discharged both barrels at a snipe. His companion fired at it from such a distance, that although struck, it escaped with the loss of only a few feathers, and afterwards alighted a short way off. On showing the specimen killed at Portglenone to one of these gentlemen, he recognised it as similar in size and colour to the bird which he had seen.

In Dublin, I subsequently saw a snowy owl, winch had been shot in the county of Mayo, also in the month of March, and was credibly informed that a few others were obtained about the same

tleman, then rose at about forty yards distance, and flew towards him, when it was fired at, but sailed away apparently unhurt. It was, however, soon afterwards brought to him by a boy who had seen it fall ; and excepting a flesh wound in the muscle of one wing, was quite uninjured. It was kept in confinement for a considerable time, and eventually killed by a servant for making too free with some chickens.

In the Fauna of Cork, published in 1845, it is stated that "an individual of this species was twice fired at by Richard D. Parker, Esq., of Sunday's Well, on Inchigeela mountain, in 1827, but was not procured." To make sure that there was not a typographical error in the year, — that 1827 was not substituted for 1837, — I wrote to the author, and learned that it was correctly printed. The bird was seen in the month of September.