BIRDS OF PREY. 41 
one day into the gateway of the castle, an attendant ran 
up to him, out of breath, exclaiming, ‘Please your 
grace, Lord Thurlow—’ ‘ Well, said the duke, sharply, 
‘what news—is he better or worse? ‘Oh! please your 
grace, replied the man, ‘he’s just laid an egg!’ As 
may be concluded, it is quite an event for an egg to be 
laid by these aristocratic birds; they do not average 
amongst them one a year, and it is seldom they are 
productive.” 
The Short-eared Owl (8. brachyotos) is less frequent 
than the preceding species, and all the specimens I have 
seen were in turnip-fields. At the same time, some are 
met with every winter, and generally in October and 
November. A male bird was shot on November 9, 
1858, while hunting over a turnip-field at Car Brecks, 
close to the town; it was in most perfect feather, the 
ears were well developed, and the whole plumage very 
soft, and, like that of the rest of the family, admirably 
adapted for a noiseless flight. 
This owl is less nocturnal in its habits than its fellows, 
feeding chiefly, if not entirely, by day; indeed, I never 
met with it on the move at night, and no amount of 
sunshine seems to dazzle or confuse it. It possesses 
great power of wing, though I have always seen it flying 
near the ground, on which it often alights, and also 
roosts at night. I think it rarely perches on trees. 
Far more numerous with us than any of its congeners 
is the White or Barn Owl (S. flammea), although we 
have neither ancient towers nor ivy-clad ruins to afford 
it a shelter or retreat. It is at no loss however, for, in 
default of these, the old hollow oaks in the forest are 
generally selected as its breeding places, for which they 
are admirably fitted, being both comfortable and secure. 
