298 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



the bare ground ; I have come across two or three instances 

 of nests in rabbit-burrows. In a nest of a Carrion Crow, in 

 which I found a Wood-Owl sitting three eggs, the wool lining 

 was clean and fresh ; either the Owl had added wool or the 

 Carrions had recently deserted ; it is unlikely that the Owl had 

 evicted them. a?he large white eggs (Plate 131), usually three or 

 four in number, are laid at intervals and incubated as soon as 

 laid. The first down is buff (Plate 133), but later it is barred ; 

 a tame bird moulted its down gradually during July. The 

 young are fed by the parents after they have left the nest, and 

 are boldly protected ; a Tawny with young will strike a man 

 with its claws on the head or neck, though it will not attack 

 his face. 



The Tawny Owl is a variable bird, having two distinct 

 phases, grey and rufous ; the latter, figured, is the commoner 

 in Britain. The general colour is warm rufous buff, mottled 

 with dark brown ; pale tips to the secondaries form light bars 

 on the wings. The buff under parts have dark brown stria- 

 tions. The facial disc is grey, margined with brown ; the legs 

 are densely feathered to the toes. The bill is yellowish horn, 

 the claws horn with black tips, the irides dark brown. The 

 female is larger and usually more rufous. Length, 15 ins. 

 Tarsus, 2 ins. 



Snowy Owl. Nyciea nyctea (Linn.). 



As suggested by its name and white plumage, the Snowy Owl 

 (Plate 123) is a bird of the Arctic, circumpolar in range, and 

 migrating southward in winter. To the Orkneys and Shetlands 

 it is a regular winter visitor, appearing from September onwards 

 and departing again in March and April. It not infrequently 

 reaches the Hebrides and mainland of Scotland, and is occa- 

 sionally seen in the north of Ireland. Elsewhere in the British 



