THE SHORT-EARED OWL 207 



if out of the branches, its flight and appearance 

 are by no means unlike that of the woodcock, 

 and it has been often mistaken for that bird. 

 Inversely, it may be remarked that many a 

 woodcock, when first flushed, has been mistaken 

 for this owl ; the appellation of woodcock owl 

 is, however, derived from the periods of its 

 annual visitation and departure coinciding with 

 that of the woodcock. The colour of the plum- 

 age of this bird is of a somewhat lighter and 

 yellower shade than that of the long-eared owl, 

 and it frequents localities different to those pre- 

 ferred by the latter, being more generally to be 

 found in marshes, boglands, or even turnip-fields ; 

 and it is, moreover, generally to be seen in com- 

 pany with others of its kind. They are said to 

 be addicted to destroying game, but I have myself 

 never been able as yet to prove the assertion, 

 though they are powerful birds, and somewhat 

 hawk-like in their flight when well on the wing ; 

 nor is their diet restricted to mice alone, since 

 they are capable of striking at the largest of the 

 tribe of small birds. Nevertheless, although I 

 have repeatedly seen them when shooting, I have 

 never discovered any evidence of their deserving 

 the reputation of being destructive to game. 



In many respects hawks and owls resemble 

 each other, and the link between the two families 

 is met with in the harriers, which possess, in a 

 measure, the same peculiar arrangement of feathers 

 on the .face, forming a kind of disc, though the 



