THE TAWNY AND LONG-EARED OWLS 205 



common of our British birds, unlike the white 

 owl, prefers to make its home in the less fre- 

 quented woodlands, where, in the hollow of some 

 old pollard tree, it constructs its nest, if nest it 

 can be called. It is said to be a bit of a 

 poacher, but I am somewhat disinclined to admit 

 the allegation. There may be truth in the state- 

 ment, but I have never had any reason to believe 

 the charge to be well founded, and, I may add, 

 I have no desire to do so, for I would far sooner 

 aid in its protection than its extermination, and 

 it is nowadays not nearly as common as it was 

 formerly. The plumage is of a reddish-yellow, 

 with dark-brown stripes and spots, mingled here 

 and there with black and gray markings, the 

 general tone being of that colour from which it 

 derives its name. 



Last autumn (1894) a friend of mine sent me a 

 specimen of a long-eared owl, which one of his 

 labourers had picked up in an exhausted condition. 

 Various remedies had been tried to restore it, but 

 without success, and the poor bird died very soon 

 after it had been found. I could not ascertain 

 any marks of violence, and it appeared to be in 

 perfectly good health, though thin. 1 skinned 

 and mounted it, and, as it was in particularly good 

 plumage and a success, I put it in a case and 

 returned it to my friend, who very fully appre- 

 ciated the compliment. In the majority of in- 

 stances an owl is by no means easy to skin, 

 as it is difficult to avoid losing a great many 



