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i 8 The Field Naturalist's Quarterly November 



The Kingfisher {Alcedo ispidd) is generally admitted to 

 be the most beautiful of all British birds. About equal in 

 size to the last named, we shall not wait long before 

 making its acquaintance by almost any riverside in Britain. 

 A bird so gorgeously coloured that it seems like a flash of 

 rainbow lightning as it flies swiftly along a stream needs no 

 detailed description, but we may say that it is mainly blue 

 and greenish blue above and chestnut-red below. The way 

 to see the kingfisher is to walk quietly along the river 

 banks, watching carefully for any bird that may fly up or 

 down stream. We may, however, often surprise it when 

 we cross a river bridge, and, as a naturalist will always do, 

 approach quietly so that we may see whatever may be on or 

 near the water before we ourselves are seen. 



The Tawny Owl {Syrnium alucd), also commonly called 

 the Brown Owl, is more frequently heard than any of its 

 kind, and is the largest of our common British owls, being, 

 roughly speaking, equal in size to a small fowl. In most 

 woods, properly so called, its loud hoot may be heard at 

 any hour of the night, and is to our ear one of the most 

 melodious sounds of the country. Like a low deep whistle — 

 00-00-00-00, 00-00-00-00-00-00, the hoot is almost always in 

 two musical bars, four notes in the first, and six, somewhat 

 fainter and quicker, in the last bar. It is always the tatvny 

 owl that thus hoots ; and if ever in the daytime we disturb 

 a brown owl from a hole in a tree or quarry, we may be 

 quite sure that it is this species. We may also sometimes 

 come across this bird in the woods, sitting on a branch 

 close to the tree trunk, but only a practised eye can then 

 distinguish the bird from the tree, for the harmony of colour 

 is perfect. The tawny owl almost exclusively inhabits woods 

 of oak, beech, and other deciduous trees. 



The Long-Eared Owl {Asio otus), a smaller bird than 

 the last, is almost entirely confined to the fir woods, where 

 in many districts of Britain it is the commonest owl, but 

 they are generally difficult to find. During the day they 

 commonly roost on old nests of wood-pigeons, upon which 

 they also lay their eggs in early spring. The two tufts 

 of feathers which stand straight up from the crown of the 

 owl's head, and the bird's bright yellow eyes, give it a very 



