254 



BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



webs, and whitish on the inner. Crown of the 

 head, neck, back, and scapulars dusky, the feathers 

 being bordered with light rusty-brown. Wing- 

 coverts dusky, marked with a number of yellowish- 

 white spots ; primaries light rusty-brown, barred 

 with blackish-brown. Tail-quills pale rufous, barred 

 with dark brown. Under -parts buffish - white, 

 streaked on the breast and belly with blackish- 

 brown. Legs and toes feathered and pale 



bufnsh-white in colour ; claws 

 blackish. 



The female is rather larger 

 than the male, and is said by 

 some to be somewhat duller in 

 coloration ; however, indi- 

 viduals vary in this respect. 

 The bird is readily distinguished 

 from all the other members of 

 the Owl family by the small- 

 ness of its head. 



Situation and Locality. On 

 the ground, amongst heather, 

 long grass, rushes, sedge, and gorse ; on large 

 moors, upland heaths, fens, and marshes in Nor- 

 folk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and in the northern 

 counties of England, Wales and Scotland. It is 

 said to be only a winter visitor to Ireland. 



Materials. Dry grass, moss, and other bits of 

 dead vegetation, used sparingly to line the hollow 

 made or selected ; sometimes none whatever. 



Eggs.- Three to five, generally ; sometimes as 

 many as seven or eight. I have seen a clutch of 

 seven in Norfolk, but never more than five in the 

 Highlands. Mr. Richard Bell says that during the 

 great Vole plague of 1890-93 one of his shepherds 



SHORT-EARED OWL 

 ON NEST. 



