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SHORT-EARED OWL. 



WOODCOCK OWL. SHORT-HOKNED OWL. HAWK OWL. 

 MOUSE HAWK. 



Strix brachyotos, MONTAGU. BEWICK. 



" Itltlla, L AT HAM. 



Otus brachyotos, SELBY. GOULD. 



Strix A kind of Owl. Brachyotos. Brachus Short. 



Otis, (plural ota) Au ear. 



THE remark made at the commencement of the next article, 

 applies in a modified degree to the bird whose natural history 

 is at present under consideration. I hope we shall never 

 ourselves be so overwise as to undervalue the tales of our 

 childhood; and, if so, the question 'what ears you have!' and 

 the philosophical answer 'the better to hear with;' will never 

 be effaced from our recollection. 



The Short-eared Owl is found in G-ermany, Holland, most 

 parts of Europe, and North and South America. 



Unlike the next species, this one avoids the shelter of 

 woods, and makes itself conspicuous in the open country, 

 seeming to prefer moist situations: in the eastern side of 

 the island it is the most numerous, as if it had crossed over 

 from the continent. 



It is a migratory bird, arriving among us in October, and 

 departing in March; and as five or six are sometimes found 

 roosting together, it is deemed probable that they migrate in 

 flocks, more or less large. On one occasion, in Ireland, 

 thirteen or fourteen were seen together. They breed in 

 Northumberland, and probably other northern counties; in 

 the Orkneys, in Dumfriesshire and other parts of Scotland: 

 several of their nests have been found in Norfolk, and one, 

 it is believed, in Suffolk. 



They feed by day, especially in dull weather, and may 



