THE HORNED OWLS. 



99 



Short-eared Owl is often flushed in open ground, such as tur- 

 nip-fields, especially towards the end of October, when the 

 general migration of the species takes place in England, about 

 the time of the coming-in of the Woodcock. From the latter 

 circumstance it is probably called in so many places the 

 " Woodcock " Owl, or this name may also be acquired by its 

 similarly twisting flight. It is essentially a bird of the open, 

 and I have even seen it on the south coast, frequenting the 

 banks and reedy ditches of Pagham Harbour in Sussex, where 

 I once shot an early migrant on the 3rd of September. It 

 flies well in the daylight, and may often be seen hunting for 

 food in the full glare of the sun, which seems to incommode 

 this species but little. It feeds on all the small Rodents, and 

 was of great use during the vole-plague in 1892, when the 

 Short-eared Owls came to the rescue of the farmers, and as 

 many as four hundred of their nests were found in the infected 

 districts of Southern Scotland. The same flocking of Owls 

 occurred during a similar plague many years ago in the Forest 

 of Dean in Gloucestershire. The Short-eared Owl is also said 

 to feed on small birds, as well as occasionally on bats, fish, 

 reptiles, and beetles. During his recent expedition to the 

 Salvage Islands, which lie between Madeira and the Canaries, 

 Mr. Ogilvie-Grant found two pairs of Short-eared Owls on the 

 largest island of the group, where they found plenty of food in 

 the shape of a powerful little mouse, which fed in turn on the 

 unfortunate Petrels {P. marina) which were breeding in num- 

 bers on the summit of the rocky island. 



Nest.— On the ground, often in quite an exposed situation. 

 No regular nest is made, the eggs being laid in a depression 

 of the ground, or in a tuft of heather, in the moorland 

 districts. 



Eggs. — From six to eight in number, and sometimes as many 

 as twelve have been found. They are generally laid in May, 

 but have also been found as early as the first week in April. 

 The eggs are very much like those of the Long-eared Owl, 

 white, and with scarcely any gloss. Mr. Seebohm says that 

 some examples can scarcely be distinguished from those of 

 the Hawk- Owl. Axis i-55-i-65 inch ; diam., i-2-i-3. 



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