BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 157 



white, edged with reddish ; breast, huffish, with faint dusky- 

 spots on flanks ; tail, buff, with four or five darkish 

 grey bars ; tips of tail-feathers, white ; irides, blackish ; 

 bill, pale straw colour; claws, dark grey; legs, feathered. 

 Length, from twelve to thirteen inches. The female has 

 the same colouration as the male, but is slightly larger. 



Moob vvL 



THE Wood Owl (Strix aluco, Gerini) is another of our 

 resident owls, but is not so plentiful as formerly; it is also 

 a resident in the Western Palearctic Region. The adult 

 has the upper parts reddish-brown, vermiculated and 



