TAWN7 OWL 199 



tinction is his powerful, clear voice : heard in the profound silence 

 of the woods at eventide the sound is wonderfully impressive, and 

 affects us with a sense of mystery. This may be due to imagina- 

 tion, or to some primitive faculty in us, since the feeling is strong 

 only when we are alone. If we are in a merry company, then the 

 wood-owl's too-whit, too-wJio, may even seem to us ' a merry note,' 

 as Shakespeare described it. 



The tawny owl sometimes breeds, like the barn-owl, in ruins, 

 outhouses, disused chimneys, and such places ; but the usual site is 

 a hoUow tree, all the more liked if it is overgrown with ivy. Some- 

 times he takes possession of a deserted nest of a magpie or crow to 

 breed in. The three or four eggs laid are white, and nearly round 

 in shape. 



The tawny owl is strictly nocturnal in habits, and preys on mice, 

 rats, moles, young rabbits, squirrels, and birds ; and he also, like 

 most owls, occasionally takes fish. 



Besides the species described, no fewer than seven others have 

 been included in books on British birds, and if these seven were not 

 rare accidental visitors to our island we should indeed be rich in 

 owls. It will be sufficient to give their names : — 



Snowy owl (Nyciea scandiaca). 



European hawk-owl {Surnia ulula). 



American hawk-owl {Surnia funeria). 



Tengmalm's owl (Nyctala tengmalmi). 



Scops owl {Sco2)s giu). 



Eagle owl {Buho ignavus). 



Little owl {Athene noctua). 



It is possible that the last species may one day come to be ranked 

 as a British bird, like the pheasant and red-legged partridge, as 

 several attempts have been made to introduce it into this country, 

 first by "Waterton, in 1843 ; and, in recent years, by Mr. W. H. St. 

 Quintin in Yorkshire, and Mr. Meade-Waldo in Hampshire. 



Hen Harrier. 



Circus cyaneus. 



Upper parts of adult male bluish grey ; lower parts white ; beak 

 black ; irides reddish brown ; legs and feet yellow ; claws black. 

 Female : upper parts reddish brown ; under parts pale reddish 



