WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



low eye gives him a peculiarly handsome appearance : al- 

 together he is of a lighter make and more active than the 

 other owls; they are very common in the shady fir-woods. I 

 often see this bird sitting on a branch close to the stem of 

 the tree, and depending on the exact similitude of his col- 

 our to that of the bark, he sits motionless with his bright 

 golden eye watching earnestly every movement I make. 

 If he fancies himself observed, and likely to be molested, 

 down he dashes, flies a hundred yards or so, and then sud- 

 denly pitches again. His long ears and bright eyes give 

 him a most unbirdlike appearance as he sits watching one. 

 As soon as evening comes on, the owl issues forth in full 

 life and activity, and in the woods here may be seen and 

 heard in all directions, sitting on the topmost branch of 

 some leafless tree, generally a larch or ash (these two being 

 his favourites), where he hoots incessantly for an hour to- 

 gether, swelling his throat out, and making the eccentric 

 motions of a pouter pigeon. They breed in rocks, ivy, or 

 in the deserted nest of a magpie. 



I do not know why, but I never could succeed in rear- 

 ing one of these birds — they have invariably died, without 

 any apparent cause, before their first year was over. Not 

 so with the tawny owl. One of these birds has been in my 

 kitchen-garden for three years. Though his wing is some- 

 times cut, he can fly sufficiently to get over the wall, but 

 seldom ventures beyond the adjoining flower-garden or 

 orchard. From habit or tameness this bird seems to pay 

 little regard to sunshine or shade, sitting during the day- 

 time as indifferently in the most open and exposed places 

 as in the more shaded corners: he is quite tame too, and 



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