128 FIELD-STUDIES OF RARER BIRDS 



for then and particularly should the eggs be 

 nearly fresh the male, instead of rising alertly 

 and coming to challenge you, as he will when the 

 young are hatched, frequently waits to be kicked 

 up, and then flies low and straight away. Even 

 if he should stay close after you have luckily 

 flushed him, he will frequently be indifferent to 

 your presence, thus giving you no clue to the posi- 

 tion of his home. If you can put him up, practically 

 the only course open to you is to patiently patrol 

 the ground ; but you should bear in mind that 

 even now he may be as much as a hundred yards 

 from the brooding hen. Of course you may, as 

 I have done ere now, move the female from eggs 

 by sheer luck, as you strike a line across the 

 moors : but if you really wish to find the eyrie 

 you must place no great faith in that " chancy ' 

 method. 



A dog is always a useful aid towards success. 

 Firstly, because the Short-eared Owl sits closely 

 until, in fact, almost trodden upon whether 

 incubating eggs or brooding over young, and my 

 experience convinces me that Short-eared Owlets 

 are covered by one of their parents and that 

 generally their mother up to a more advanced age 

 than is the case with the young of other British 

 Owls. Secondly, because a dog gets over more 

 ground than half a dozen men ; thirdly, because 

 he often catches the Owl's wind ; and, lastly, 

 because a Short-eared Owl always exhibits greater 



