288 SHORT-EARED OWL. 



of our regular winter visitants in the north. Octo- 

 ber 13th is the earliest date of its occurrence to 

 me ; and I have several times shot this Owl in the 

 neighbourhood of Belfast, invariably in wet and 

 boggy places, where snipes might be expected."* 



The geographical range is extensive, as we have 

 already noted ; and, next to Europe, it seems most 

 abundant on the American continent. In the 

 United States it is a winter visitant, appearing in 

 November and departing in April, t most probably 

 to some wilder district to breed; for it is a summer 

 visitant, again, in the fur countries, arriving as 

 soon as the snow disappears, and departing in 

 September. It is found as far north as lat. 67. 

 Its principal haunts are dense thickets of young 

 pine trees, and dark and entangled willow clumps, 

 where it sits in a low branch watching assiduously 

 for mice. Its nest, formed of withered grass and 

 moss, is placed on a dry spot of ground; and, 

 according to Mr Ilutchins, it lays ten or twelve 

 small round white eggs. J 



In the markings of this species we have the 

 same prevalence of tawny and black, or deep 

 umber brown, which we have seen in most of the 

 preceding birds, but it is without that blended 

 very undecided and wavy character which we 



* Mag. of Zool. and Bot. ii. p. 177. 



t Wilson. Northern Zoology, ii. p. 75. 



