WOOD-OWL. 155 
The Wood-Owl is not generally a migratory bird; nor does its range 
extend far to the north. Under the influence of the Gulf-stream, the 
winters in Scandinavia are mild enough to allow of its finding food up 
to the Arctic circle. In West Russia its range does not extend to Arch- 
angel; and in East Russia it is said not to be found north of lat. 58°. It 
has never been recorded from Siberia; but it is a rare resident in Tur- 
kestan, the Himalayas, and Thibet. Pére David found it at Moupin; and 
Swinhoe obtained it in North China, The southern range of the Wood- 
Owl extends into North Africa. In Algeria it is a resident; and it has 
once occurred in Egypt. It is found in Asia Minor and Palestine, and 
has been obtained in the Caucasus, but not yet in Persia. Like many 
other birds, and especially other Owls, it has adapted itself to its surround- 
ings, so that the colours of its plumage are “ protective ”—not to protect 
it from any enemies, but to protect it from discovery by its prey. The 
tropical form of the Wood-Owl breeds in the Himalayas and is a very 
rufous bird. Some ornithologists treat it as a distinct species under the 
name of S. nivicolum. The typical form of the Wood-Owl, commonly 
known as the Tawny Owl, is an intermediate link between the tropical 
form and the semi-arctic form commonly known as the Grey Owl. 
The tropical form inhabits a region where the rainfall is excessive, the 
typical form, as a general rule, where the rainfall is moderate, and the 
grey form where the climate is very dry. In the British Museum is an 
example of the grey form from Thibet; and I have a skin from North 
China. In Europe the grey form is principally found in the north and 
east, and occurs also in North Africa; but it is difficult to account very 
precisely for the geographical distribution of these two forms, as the females 
and young of the grey form are more rufous than the adult males, and 
both forms appear to have occasionally strayed to some extent out 
of their beat, as if the cause which produced the difference of colour had 
ceased to exist. 
The Tawny or ‘‘ Wood ”-Owl, as it is often called, differs greatly from 
the well-known Barn-Owl, both in the colour of its plumage, its haunts, 
and its notes. The Tawny Owl is a dull and sombre bird, well adapted to 
escape discovery in its gloomy haunt in the quiet and seclusion of the 
forest. It sometimes chooses a retreat in the thick pine-woods or in the 
tangled game-coverts where the undergrowth is dense and the timber well 
matured. It also frequents the oak-forests, selecting a home in the 
interior of one of the decaying giants that for centuries has withstood the 
assaults of time and tempest, and where the solitude is rarely broken, 
except by the laugh of the Woodpecker, the murmur of the Doves, and the 
Pheasant’s harsh and discordant morning and evening call. In some in- 
stances I have known this bird choose a hole in a ruin or a cave for its 
daily resting-place ; but such instances are rare. The Tawny Owl is also 
