LONG-EARED OWL 197 



silent forms appeared outside the wood, and, after a few rounds of 

 preliminary gyrations, it was dark enough to commence operations 

 in earnest.' 



Field-mice and rats are its principal food ; it also preys a good 

 deal on insects, and kills more small birds than does the white owl. 

 It is an early breeder, laying its eggs in the deserted nest of a crow, 

 magpie, rook, or heron, or in a squirrel's drey, or even making use 

 of the slight platform-nest of the wood-pigeon. The eggs are four 

 to six in number, nearly round in shape, and have smooth white 

 shells. 



Short-eared Owl. 

 Asio brachyotus. 



Face whitish; beak black; iris yellow; tufts on the head 

 small, composed of black feathers ; eyes encircled by brownish 

 black ; upper parts dusky brown edged with yellow ; under parts 

 dull yellow streaked with brown. Length, fifteen inches. 



In its habits the short -eared owl offers a strong contrast to the 

 species last described. It is a bird of the moors and fens, laying its 

 eggs on the ground, and never, or very seldom, perches on trees. 

 In appearance it is less owl-like and uncanny-looking than the long- 

 eared owl, the colouring and markings being less rich, the head 

 smaller, and the ear-tufts so small that at a distance of twenty-five 

 yards they are scarcely visible. It is migratory in its habits, and 

 as it arrives on the east coast at the same time as the woodcock, it 

 is often called the woodcock-owl. 



As a winter visitant it is found in most places in the British 

 Islands, but it breeds with us only hi Scotland and a few localities 

 in the north of England. As I have said in the history of the 

 barn-owl, the present species ranges over a large portion of the 

 globe, and on the continent of America it is found from Greenland 

 to the Straits of Magellan. It is not so nocturnal in its habits as 

 the majority of owls, and may often be seen, an hour or two before 

 sunset, beating over the rough ground like a hen harrier in search 

 of prey. It feeds on small rodents of all kinds, and on birds. The 

 eggs are three to five in number, and in some instances as many 

 as seven or eight are laid, and are placed in a slight clearing among 

 the herbage on marshy ground, or under the heather on a moor. 



There is some variety in the language of this species : it hisses 



