124 STRIGTD.E. 



The eggs of this bird, seklom exceeding three in number, 

 are smooth and white, one inch eight lines in length, by one 

 inch three lines and a half in breadth. 



Small quadrupeds and small birds form the principal food 

 of this Owl. In the stomach of one, Colonel Montagu found 

 the remains of a Skylark and a Yellowhammer. Mr. 

 Thompson of Belfast found the legs of a Purre, Tringa 

 variabilis of Meyer and Temminck ; and in the stomach of 

 one examined by myself, were a half-grown rat, and portions 

 of a bat ; but this is the only bird in the stomach of which I 

 ever found the remains of a bat. Wilson, however, in his 

 account of the White, or Barn Owl, says that bats are the 

 favourite food of most of the American Owls. 



The Short-eared Owl is well known in most of, if not all, 

 the southern and western counties of England, and, according 

 to Mr. Thompson, is one of the regular winter visitors 

 to the northern counties of Ireland, preferring wet and 

 boggy places, where Snipes might be expected. Loca- 

 lities in the north of England, in Scotland, and the Orkneys, 

 have been already named. It inhabits the whole of the 

 continent of Europe, and is found also in India and in Africa. 

 Dr. Richardson says, "it is a summer visitor to the fur-coun- 

 tries of North America, arriving as soon as the snow dis- 

 appears, and departing again in September. It was observed 

 as far north as latitude 67° ; and a female, killed at Fort 

 Franklin on the 20th of May, contained several pretty large 

 eggs nearly ready for exclusion. In summer it is by no 

 means rare in the fur-countries : and, as it hunts frequently 

 for its prey in the day time, is often seen. When disturbed, 

 it flies low for a short distance, and then hides itself in the 

 heart of a bush, from whence it is not easily driven. Its 

 nest, formed of withered grass and moss, is placed on a dry 

 spot of ground." This species frequents Hudson's Bay, 

 Labrador, and Newfoundland, in summer, and is found on 



