i6o OWLS. 



seating itself on the ground, or a paling, or low branch, or outhouse ; and thence 

 captures beetles and other insects on the wing, or snatches one oft" the branch of 

 a tree ; now and then taking a low, undulating flight over the plain or garden, and 

 dropping on any small mouse, shrew, lizard, or insect it may spy on the ground." 

 The writer has often put his hand into some hole in a tree and had his fingers 

 seized by one of these owlets, and has frequently noticed the calm nonchalance 

 with which the birds have sat and regarded him when they have been dragged 

 forth. The spotted owlet lays from two to four eggs, which are generally 

 deposited in March. 



As already mentioned, the term hawk-owl, although commonly 

 applied to the members of the genus Ninox, j)roperly belongs to 

 the species here represented. It may be well to add that the reader must be 

 careful to avoid confusing the scientific title of this genus with the name 

 Syimium (p. 146). The hawk-owls bring us to a group of genera diftering from 

 those already described by the cere not being inflated, with the oval nostrils 

 always pierced in its front margin. The hawk-owls, which have no distinct 

 ear-tufts, are characterised by the long and graduated tail, which approaches the 

 wing in length. The head is unusually flat, with the facial disc nearly obsolete, 

 a strongly-curved and powerful bill, and a small orifice to the ear. The wings 

 are short, and the whole plumage very hard and compact ; while the legs are rather 

 short, and the toes thickly feathered. 



The hawk-owl (Surnia idula) is the most hawk-like member of the order, 

 both in appearance and habits. The typical form is distributed over Northern 

 Europe and Asia, ranging through Siberia to Kamschatka and Amurland ; a few 

 stragglers ranging into Central Europe in the winter. It is represented in North 

 America, to the northward of latitude 40°, by a darker variety (fimerea) ; and, 

 according to Dr. Coues, it is to this variety that some of the specimens taken in 

 Britain belong. In length this owl reaches 15 or 16 inclies. The general colour of 

 the upper-parts is brown mottled with white, — the white being most abundant on 

 the head and neck, and least so on the umber wings. The facial disc is dirty grey, 

 bounded on the sides by a crescentic purplish brown patch, extending down from 

 the ears. The chin is dusky ; the throat and upper part of the breast are dull 

 white, while the remainder of the under-parts is dull with numerous dusky bars : 

 the under surface of the tail being barred with greyish brown and dull white. 

 In addition to the darker colour of the upper surface, the American variety is 

 distinguished by the broader and redder bars on the breast, and the smaller size of 

 the white gorget. In habits the hawk-owl is strictly diurnal, hawking its prey 

 in the bright sunshine. It is an inhabitant of the subalpine districts of 

 Norway, sometimes reaching as high as the zone of birch-trees, although its ti'ue 

 home is the fir- woods. Frequently it may be seen sitting in the full sunlight on 

 some bare tree, surrounded by a mob of small birds ; these the owl generally 

 disregards, although at times it makes a sudden swoop on one of its tormentors. 

 At the times when lemmings are migrating, hawk-owls make their ajDpearance in 

 great numbers to prey upon the rodent hosts. The nesting-place is usually upon 

 the broken top of some dead tree ; the eggs (five to eight in number) being laid 

 either on the bare rotten wood, or upon a thin layer of dried grass. The female 



