40 OUR RARER BIRDS 



ill autumn are very marked. It arrives in flocks in October, 

 and continues more or less sociable ^vith its species through- 

 out the winter. I have seen great numbers of this interesting 

 bird caught in the flight nets round the Wash, where it is 

 known to the fishermen as the "AVoodcock Owl," from its 

 liabit of appearing there with tliat bird. Short-eared Owls 

 migrate at night, and evidently fly just above the water. 

 Unlike most other Owls this bird often flies by day, and is 

 frequently seen hunting the fields for food even in the brightest 

 sunshine. In its flight, food, and many of its habits it resembles 

 its congeners, but prefers the open country to woods or 

 buildings. Unlike most other British Owls, this bird rears its 

 young on the ground, often in the most exposed situations. 

 May is its nesting- season. Its nest, little more than a hollow 

 lined with a few bits of dead and withered herbage, is placed 

 either amongst the heather or the rushes and other aquatic 

 vegetation on the marshes. It lays five or six pure white eggs, 

 very similar to those of the preceding species. 



