338 



NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



wooded regions of the rest of Europe it is rather common, breeding abundantly in 

 Scandinavia, in Spain, on the wooded slopes of the Urals, and thence eastward across 

 Siberia to China. In many parts of Germany it is still common, but probably decreas- 

 ing steadily in numbers. According to Dresser, " An official list states that two 

 hundred and two specimens were killed in Bohemia in 1857, which appears almost 

 doubtful, though the total number of owls of all sorts killed there is in the same list 



' O 



stated to be eight thousand six hundred and seventy." According to the same 





FIG. 155. Bubo igiiavus, eagle-owl. 



author, this bird is one of the boldest and most rapacious of European birds of prey, 

 being a match even for the eagle. Yet, though it sees well in the daytime, it is 

 frequently chased about and stooped at by peregrines and smaller falcons, until com- 

 pelled to seek safety in a dense thicket or beneath a projecting rock. 



" Usually it remains quiet during the day, hidden in some dark ravine or dense 

 forest, but often appears about in search of prey quite early in the evening, before the 

 twilight has set in. Its flight, like that of all the owls, is noiseless and powerful ; and 



