STRIGID.t:. 



293 



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A.;(A^V 



THE LONG-EARED OWL. 



Asio 6tus (Linnaeus). 



The Long-eared Owl is more abundant than is generally sup- 

 posed, and it is found throughout the year in the wooded districts 

 of Great Britain, especially in fir-plantations ; its numbers being 

 increased in autumn by migrations from the Continent. Where 

 suitable cover is available it breeds in the Inner Hebrides, and has 

 been obtained in North Uist ; while it is now known to nest in the 

 Orkneys, and occurs in the Shetlands on migration. In Ireland it 

 is common and resident. 



This Owl has wandered to the Faeroes and Iceland, and is a 

 well-known visitor to Heligoland. It breeds in Scandinavia and 

 Russia as far as 63° N. lat., though rare and local at the northern 

 extremity of its range ; but south of 59° in the Ural Mountains it 

 is more or less numerous down to the northern slopes of the 

 Caucasus ; while westward, it is generally distributed throughout the 

 woodlands of Europe. In the south it is more abundant in winter 

 than in summer, and the birds which breed in Spain and Italy gene- 

 rally resort to the wooded mountains. Mr. Godman obtained a 



