Page:The Natural History of Ireland vol1.djvu/122

 Extent of wings 4 feet 94 inches ; first quill 14 inch shorter than the second, which is about 2 lines shorter than the third, this being the longest ; the fourth is about 2 lines shorter than the second ; the fifth 2 lines less than the first in length ; this relative proportion of the quills is the same in the specimen from Portglenone, preserved in the Belfast Museum.

Colour of forehead, throat, and upper portion of breast, lower part of belly, under tail-coverts, under side of wings (except the roundish spots towards the points of primaries, secondaries, and tertials), and entire legs, white. Plumage of the body beneath the wings, lower part of breast, and upper portion of belly, white, beautifully barred with blackish-brown in waved and variously formed lines about half an inch apart, and becoming narrow as they approach the tail ; the greatest breadth of these dark bars about 14 line. Feathers of the occiput white, tipped with black ; lower part of nape where the head joins the body, white ; back, scapulars, and coverts of the wings, white, closely barred with blackish brown. Primaries, secondaries, and tertials (which, as to colouring, cannot well be separated in description, blending as they do into each other), at first darkly barred on both outer and inner webs towards the tips, but gradually becoming less so towards the centre (secondaries generally), where three or four round spots appear on the outer web only ; thence the spots become more numerous, and towards the body (tertials) the bars again appear on both webs, thus, in the markings, balancing the primaries on the opposite side ; upper tail coverts with narrow bars of blackish brown. Tail feathers twelve in number, the two outer ones pure white, third and fourth with two broad bars of dark blackish brown near the tip, fifth and sixth with three bars of the same colour. Irides, golden yellow. Weight 3i lbs. This bird was fat, and in high condition. On dissection, it proved a male ; its stomach was quite empty.

In a letter, dated Twizell House, July 21, 1838, 1 was informed by P. J. Selby, Esq., that lie had received a snowy owl from Killibegs, county of Donegal, near which place it was shot in the month of November or December, 1837. This is the same indi- vidual which appears from the " First Annual Report of the Natural History Society of Dublin," p. 6, to have been announced at one of the meetings as an eagle owl (Bubo maximus) : it is almost unnecessary to add, that the gentleman who made the an- nouncement had not the opportunity of seeing the specimen, but judged merely from the description communicated to him. The fact is mentioned here merely to guard against future error.

In the month of October, 1837, Richard Langtry, Esq., of Eort William, near Belfast, received three riving specimens of the snowy owl, which were taken in the previous month of August,