208 BIRDS. 



part, and at any rate to the southern counties, a winter 

 visitor. A comparatively few pairs breed in the Fen 

 t Short- Country, and a few more farther north, especi- 



eared Owl. Q\\y i^ Scotland, where there is a supply of 

 voles. The ear-tufts in this species measure only half 

 those of the last, being less than ^ inch. Often seen 

 abroad by day, the bird, which, as already indicated, 

 breeds with us only in the fens or on the moors, lays 

 her eggs in a clump of sedge or heather on or near the 

 ground. ^[/[/s, 4 to 6, ij4 inch ; creamy white, and 

 smoother than those of most owls. 



Kesident over the major part of Great Britain, the 

 Tawny Owl is extending its range northward, but has 



Tawny not yet been recorded from Ireland. Its toes 



^^^- are feathered to the claws, the tail, white at 



the tip, is barred with brown, and there are white spots on 

 the wings. The bird has no ear-tufts like the last. There 

 are two phases, a red and a grey, the latter being the more 

 common in our southern counties. This is the hooting owl 

 of our woodlands, and Wordsworth's famous line about 

 the wandering voice never seen (though scarcely, perhaps, 

 " longed for " !) would apply to it with greater force than 

 to the cuckoo, in honour of which it was penned, for few 

 birds shun intrusion or hate the light of day more than 

 this owl. Though no offender in the ordinary course, an 

 instance is quoted by Mr Witherby (in ' Knowledge,' June 

 1897) in which one of these birds killed a full-grown 

 rabbit. It nests, as a rule, in hollow trees ; but occasion- 

 ally its eggs are found in the deserted nests of crows and 

 other birds, in squirrels' dreys, or even in rabbit-burrows. 

 J^[/[/s, 4, 1 4 inch; white, round and smooth. 



Tengmalm^ s Owl. — A very rare winter visitor from the 

 North. Has occurred sixteen times in England and twice 

 in Scotland. 



[Little Owl has occurred in most English counties, and 

 has bred in some, but has not yet been recorded from 



