BRITISH BIRDS. 



THE SHORT-EARED OWL. 



(Strix brachyotos, Gm. Linn. Hibou brachyote, 

 Temm.) 



LENGTH fourteen inches ; breadth three feet. The 

 head is small, and hawk-like ; bill dusky ; the 

 irides are bright yellow, and when the pupil is 

 contracted, shine like gold : the circle round each 

 eye is dirty white, with dark streaks pointing out- 

 wards ; immediately round the eye is a circle of 

 black ; the two ear tufts consist of not more than 

 three feathers, of a pale brown or tawny, with a 

 dark streak in the middle of each ; the whole upper 

 part of the body is variously marked with dark 

 brown and tawny, the feathers mostly edged with 



