THE " WOODCOCK " OWL 127 



Frequently indeed very frequently they 

 patrol the same area several times. Their fierce 

 amber eyes take in every detail ; truly they 

 resemble winged cats in many respects, and their 

 local name of * ' catof ace ' ' is appropriate and 

 expressive. 



Presently a prospective victim is sighted a 

 vole. The Owl stays stationary for an instant, 

 then drops noiselessly down, at the same moment 

 expanding its ample wings to their fullest and 

 dropping its legs hitherto held straight out 

 beneath the tail forward and vertically. Plunge 

 head downwards the bird dare not from so low 

 an elevation : remember, it seldom hunts at a 

 greater height than five feet from the ground ; 

 instead, it lowers itself gently and horizontally. 

 Now, if you are near enough on several occasions 

 I have been within a very few feet of a successful 

 hunter you shall hear a vole's thin-drawn squeak 

 of anguish the herald of a taloned death ; you 

 shall hear, too, the crisp rattle of claw and pinion 

 against a bristling tangle of heather and rushes ; 

 and as the bird rises you may see a roll of brown 

 fur tightly locked in tenacious talons. Naturally, 

 the Owl misses its mark sometimes. Small 

 wonder, too, if you consider the nimbleness of 

 its quarry. 



When the Woodcock-Owl has eggs only, the 

 nest is not always easy to find, especially if the 

 breeze is boisterous, as is often the case up north ; 



