4o8 OWLS 



possesses eggs) and Suffolk, Cambridgeshire. Huntingdonshire, and 

 Essex, and Cardigansliirc. To the south of England, on the other 

 hand, the short-eared owl is merely a winter-visitor, although an 

 instance of its breeding in Devonshire is on record ; and when these 

 birds first make their appearance in the countr}- in autumn they are 

 not unfrequently to be seen in small parties. Ireland is in much the 

 same position with regard to this species as is the south of England, 

 being visited only in winter b)' var\-ing numbers of these owls, none 

 of which have ever been known to remain to breed. 



Unlike its long-eared cousin, the present species is essentially a 

 bird of the open country, frequenth' making its appearance during 

 broad daylight to hunt for short-tailed field-mice, which constitute its 

 chief pre}-. During the abnormal increase of these mischievous rodents 

 in the Scottish lowlands during the summer of 1893, short-eared owls 

 likewise made their appearance in unusual numbers, and did good 

 service in helping to stay the plague. Naturally they enjoyed a 

 surfeit of food, and this stimulating diet caused the number of eggs 

 in a clutch, which is usually from six to eight, to rise to as many as 

 ten or a dozen. The eggs are laid on the ground, without even 

 an apology for a nest, sometimes in a mere saucer-like depression, 

 but on other occasions in the midst of a tussock of heather. In 

 England this owl may be flushed from turnips in autumn, while in 

 India it is frequently put up when beating long grass for black 

 partridge or quail. 



_ ^ , The tawny owl, or wood -owl as it is commonly 



Tawny Owl ,, , • , 



,c • 1 . called m many parts of the country (the Strix aluco 

 (Syrnium aluco). ^ ^ . ^ 



of some authors), is a species without ear-tufts, easily 



distinguished by the circumstance that there is a difference in the 

 size of the apertures of the ears, the left one being considerabh- 

 superior in this respect to its fellow, although both are relatively large, 

 crescentic in shape, and capable of being closed by a cover. Like the 

 barn-owl, this species exhibits two colour-phases, the one rufous and 

 the other grey, the former being the commoner in the British Isles. 

 It should, however, be mentioned that the tendenc)- to red is stated 

 to be always more marked in the hen, who considerably exceeds her 

 partner in size. In the rufous phase the ground-colour of the i:)lumage 

 is rich chestnut, upon which are dark brown streaks and stipplings, 

 relieved by white blotches produced by the white outer webs of the 

 external scapular feathers, and the white tips of the greater wing- 

 coverts ; the wing-quills arc barred with chestnut-brown and mottled 



