[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. " ] agree with the writer
of the most interesting article on the Little owl that, owing to recent importations the bird has become a nuisance in this country and has forfeited any claim it ever had to the protection of bird-lovers. But is it true to say that it is not a British species ? Are all recorded instances of its capture during the last century thought to be birds escaped from captivity P Be wick (first edition, 1816) says, "It is sometimes found in Yorkshire, Flintshire, and in the neighbourhood of London," districts sufficiently far apart to suggest that., though not plentiful, it may have been indigenous. Bewick, by the way, and others are content to designate all the owls as striges. Is the word strix now generally confined to the White owl? By whose authority are the Latin names of birds and flowers so frequently altered? There does not seem to be universal agreement.—I am, Sir, HENRY S. GLADSTONE. Hazelwood, King's Langley.
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