whether the absence of records is due to the absence of owls or of observers is not at present certain. It is stated to have been absent at Lake Kanieri, in Westland, in 1929. It is reported to be common both in bush districts, such as the Catlins, and to the west of Inver-cargill and in the treeless Central Otago. It is also frequently found in the willow trees along the banks of rivers.

In the North Island a pair of owls was liberated at Rotorua about 1910, but soon vanished. There seem to be no specimens from the North Island, and the owl is usually stated to be absent. Four letters have, however, been received stating that it is present in the southern part of the North Island, and the matter requires further investigation. One observer states that it had been present at Te Marua, 23 miles north of Wellington, for four years in 1938, and had been seen eating snails. The Morepork was stated to be also present. Another observer, who had known the bird in England, states that he saw it in 1934 at the mouth of the Otaki River, and in 1935 near the Ohau River. Another records it as not plentiful, but present for 15 years, in the Waitohu Valley, three miles from Otaki, and another possible record is from Palmerston North.

General impressions as to the changes in numbers of birds from year to year are of little or no value, only the results of actual counts are to be relied upon, and none of these have been made. Nine out of 23 informants state that the owl is increasing in their district, but four reports are contradictory. These districts are towards the edge of the inhabited area, while there are three reports of decrease towards its centre. Though little reliance should be placed upon such reports, it may perhaps be suggested that the owl increased and spread rapidly soon after its introduction, and that at present both its numbers and its range are only increasingly slowly. From the majority of places the bird is reported to have been present 15, 20 or even 30 years, and it is only about 35 years since it was introduced.

Collaborators were asked to state whether they had actually seen the owl catch birds. The numbers of reports of different birds seen to be taken were as follows:—Sparrow, six; Blackbirds, four; White Eye, two; Thrush, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Starling and “Tit,” one each. One observer had seen an owl chasing a sparrow, and another chasing “birds.” One recorded an owl taking the bodies of blackbirds which had been shot, and another an owl feeding on a dead hare.

The nesting sites recorded are as follows:—Hollow trees, 12 hollow logs, rabbit holes and stacks, 4 each; clay banks, 3; crevices in rocks and the walls of old sheds, 2 each; caves, 1. The different numbers of eggs or young in a nest were found the following number of times:—Two eggs or young, 7 times; three eggs or young, 9 times; 4 eggs or young, 10 times; 5 eggs or young, twice. Miss Hibbert Ware states that of 17 records in England, two eggs or young were found 6 times; three eggs or young, 6 times; and 4 eggs or young, 5 times. She also states that there is reason to believe that more eggs were layed some years ago, and that this diminution is connected with the slower rate of increase of the owl compared with that which it had during the first few years after its introduction into England.