BIRDS OF PEEY. 41 



one day into the gateway of the castle, an attendant ran 

 up to him, out of breath, exclaiming, ' Please your 

 grace, Lord Thurlow ' ' Well,' said the duke, sharply, 

 * what news is he better or worse ?' ' Oh ! please your 

 grace,' replied the man, 'he's just laid an egg!' As 

 may be concluded, it is quite an event for an egg to be 

 laid by these aristocratic birds ; they do not average 

 amongst them one a year, and it is seldom they are 

 productive/' 



The Short-eared Owl (S. brachyotos) is less frequent 

 than the preceding species, and all the specimens I have 

 seen were in turnip-fields. At the same time, some are 

 met with every winter, and generally in October and 

 November. A male bird was shot on November 9, 

 1858, while hunting over a turnip-field at Car Brecks, 

 close to the town ; it was in most perfect feather, the 

 ears were well developed, and the whole plumage very 

 soft, and, like that of the rest of the family, admirably 

 adapted for a noiseless flight. 



This owl is less nocturnal in its habits than its fellows, 

 feeding chiefly, if not entirely, by day ; indeed, I never 

 met with it on the move at night, and no amount of 

 sunshine seems to dazzle or confuse it. It possesses 

 great power of wing, though I have always seen it flying 

 near the ground, on which it often alights, and also 

 roosts at night. I think it rarely perches on trees. 



Far more numerous with us than any of its congeners 

 is the White or Barn Owl (S. flammea), although we 

 have neither ancient towers nor ivy-clad ruins to afford 

 it a shelter or retreat. It is at no loss however, for, in 

 default of these, the old hollow oaks in the forest are 

 generally selected as its breeding places, for which they 

 are admirably fitted, being both comfortable and secure. 



