The Short-Eared Owl 67 



them to the feast not appearing to have been ef|ual to lead tlieni to shift their 

 quarters elsewhere when all the voles had been devoured. The cause of the 

 plague was assigned to the destruction of Owls by game-keepers; the absence of 

 nature's check had enabled the voles U) multiply until they became a formidable 

 pest. Montagu records a similar instance in the neighbourhood of Bridgwater, 

 when a large portion of the vegetation was destroyed by an immense swarm of 

 mice, and in tlie autumn a great many Short-eared Owls resorted to ];rey upon 

 them. Besides devouring countless mice the Short-eared Owl will also capture 

 small birds, such" as Larks and Yellow Hammers, an occasional Plover or Grouse, 

 rats, voles, bats, beetles, and fish. 



Numbers of the Short-eared Owl, according to Gatke, are seen on tlie tiny 

 island of Heligoland, during the spring and autumn migration. The people of 

 the island " pursue this bird very zealously, and assert that, roasted, the\- fumish 

 the finest dish a man could wish for. The birds are, as a rule, pretty fat, and 

 their white flesh certainlj^ looks very tender and appetising." In their short stay 

 on the island these Owls appear to feed on rabbits, and also upon the smaller 

 birds that are migrating in their compan}'. "During dark autumn nights, when 

 a strong migration is in progress, and Larks, Thrushes, and other species swarm 

 round tlie lighthouse in great numbers, this Owl raa}- very often be seen darting 

 up suddenly from the surrounding darkness into the glaring light of the lantern, 

 and with dexterous beatings of the wing disappearing again with equal rapidity. 

 Immediately afterwards, the plaintive cry of a Thrush announces with what 

 certainty this robber plies his trade in the course of his nocturnal flight." 



This Owl makes no nest bej-ond scratching a slight hollow in the ground 

 where it rakes together a little dry grass in a slovenh" fashion ; the nest is 

 occasionall}'- placed under a small bramble or furze-bush for protection ; the eggs 

 are from three to six, sometimes seven, or even more, in number, are white and 

 smooth, and measttre from i"74 to i'37 inches in length, by from i'33 to I'l^ 

 inches in breadth. Sometimes the}- are speckled over with a few spots of dark 

 red ; the writer has seen such a clutch, taken in the Orkne}- Isles. This species 

 nests late ; its eggs are rareh' found before the middle of Alay. 



The Short-eared Owl has the head comparativeh' small : the tufts are about 

 f ths inches in length, and are elevated or depressed at pleasure : they are said to 

 be erect when the bird is sleeping, and depressed when it is disturbed. The 

 general colour of the plumage is dark buff", broadh' streaked and blotched with 

 dark brown ; wings barred with brown ; tail buff", tipped A^-ith Avhite, and ban'ed 

 with brown ; under parts ochreous, with blackish-bro-mi streaks ; legs and toes 

 covered with pale buff feathers ; facial disk buff", streaked with dark brown, the 



