126 NATUHAL HISTOET SKETCHES. 



The Large Grey Owl was by no means rare, and 

 seemed to remain in our forests throughout the year. 

 It was larger than the wood-owl at home, of a light gray 

 ash-colour, with bright-yellow eye. I generally found it 

 in thick tea-tree scrub in the gullies. The two brown 

 owls were both much smaller, neither of them so large 

 as the common short-eared owl at home ; and one was 

 considerably larger than the other. They were both 

 deep cinnamon-brown, the smallest rather the darkest 

 in colour. Neither were rare in our forests, and both 

 remained with us throughout the year. 



I never killed an eared owl out here, and the other 

 owls were not nearly so common as I should have 

 imagined, considering the wild wooded nature of the 

 country. 



As soon as the shades of evening close in over the 

 Australian forest, the ear is startled by the cry of 

 "morepoke," clearly and loudly repeated, and a bird as 

 large as an owl flits by on noiseless wing, like the 

 goat-sucker at home. This is the Morepoke, a species of 

 large night-jar, all head and mouth, about the size of an 

 owl. It is a singular-looking but rather handsome bird, 

 of a deep slate-gray colour, ticked all over with black ; 

 the feathers long and pointed, an eye of the most bril- 

 liant yellow, and a long pointed tail. The beak and feet 

 resemble those of the European night-jar on a large scale, 

 and the gape is tremendous. It was by no means uncom- 

 mon in all the deep forests, generally single, and rarely 

 seen by day. They bred with us in the hole of a tree. Their 



