64 British Bird^^ 



make the listener imagine that it is uttered in the 

 course of a circling flight. 



LITTLE 0^\j.—{Carine noctua ; forraerl}^, 

 Noctua passerind). 



Little Night Owl, Sparrow Owl. — A very occasional 

 visitant. 



SNOWY Qr^\,—{Nyctea Scandiaca ; formerly, 

 Suriiia nycted). 



A beautiful bird, of very rare occurrence. 



HAWK OWL — {^Siirnia funered). 

 Canada Owl. — More rare than the last. 



BARN OWL — {Aluco flammeiis ; formerly 

 SU'ix flanimeci). 



White Owl, Yellow Owl, Screech Owl, Gilly 

 Howlet, Howlet, Madge Howlet, Church Owl, Hissing 

 Owl. — This common and useful bird breeds by pre- 

 ference in some building or part of one ; a church 

 tower, dove-cot, ruined mansion, or castle, and the 

 like. My most familiar boy-acquaintance, however, 

 was with the nesting place and habits of a pair which 

 nested for many consecutive years in a slight hollow 

 in the crown of a large pollard elm tree in my father's 

 church-yard at Great Wigborough, in Essex. There 

 were usually three or four young ones year by year, 

 often with perceptible differences of growth among 

 them. Indeed it is well known that this Owl and the 

 Short-cared Owl, and probably others as well, lay their 



