Short-eared Owl 



131 



reason to believe that these eggs were laid by the pair robbed on 

 April 2ist, 1892 (No. 3 in this list). The number of eggs is rather 

 remarkable for a second laying. 



Fig. 12. 



The Short-eaked Owl {Asio accipitrinus, Pallas). 



Of the four common British Owls, the Tawny, Long-eared, 

 and Barn Owls are resident species in suitable localities — that is to 

 say, they can be found at any time of the year ; that is all I mean 

 to convey by the term resident. 



The remaining Owl is in the main a winter migrant to Great 

 Britain. In the north of England, Scotland, and the Orkneys, 

 nests of the Short-eared Owl are not very rare ; while in a few 

 favoured localities further south — notably in Norfolk and Suffolk — 

 this bird is still found breeding in small and ever-decreasing numbers. 

 Prior to the reclamation of the great fen districts in the eastern 

 counties, there is every reason to believe that the species was b}^ no 

 means uncommon in the breeding season. 



The Short-eared Owl reaches our coasts in autumn, the first 

 arrivals alighting on our shores in the last days of September or 

 early in October. From thence onwards to the close of November, 

 or even later, the numbers gradually increase. In the early spring 



