84 British Birds, with their Nests and Eggs. 



tightly drawn up against a tree-trunk, sometimes with one eye closed and the 

 other slowly winking with an irresistibly comic efifect. Though this Owl, in 

 common with almost all others, prefers the shade of thick foliage for its diurnal 

 retreat, yet it seems perfectly indifferent even to the full power of the summer 

 sun of Andalucia, and flies with a quick and direct undulating flight from tree to 

 tree when disturbed in the daytime. The old olive groves of Corfu are favourite 

 haunts of this Owl, and in their hollow trunks the nest is often to be found, 

 formed of a very few sticks and grasses, and containing from three to five eggs. 

 In Spain, though the olive is extremely abundant, the Scops appears to prefer 

 hollow elms, poplars, and willows ; the cork-tree is also a favourite resort." Lord 

 Lilford adds that at Malta, at the time of the vernal migration, " these Owls 

 are often served up for dinner at the regimental messes under various names, 

 though not, so far as I know, the true one. My own experience is that the 

 flesh is very good. In captivity these little birds become very tame, and are most 

 amusing. One which I kept for a long time at Corfu preferred the Humming- 

 bird moth, which abounded there, to any other food I could give him. I think that 

 these Owls devour a greater weight of food for their size than any bird with 

 which I am acquainted." 



The eggs are round, smooth, without gloss, and are pure white ; they are 

 laid in May, almost exclusively in holes in trees, and measure from i'22 to I'ly 

 inches, by from I'oj to i'o4 inches. 



The Scops-Owl may be stated to be an Eagle Owl in miniature. The 

 plumage is full, and more compact on the upper parts than in any other British 

 Owl. The facial disks and ruff are incomplete ; the tarsi are of moderate length, 

 covered with short compact feathers ; toes bare ; ear large, without an operculum ; 

 on the head are two tufts of short feathers ; wings long ; tail short, arched, and 

 rounded. The general colour of the plumage is greyish, varied with brown and 

 brownish buff, the feathers on the crown with a black central streak ; the tufts 

 reddish brown, with white on the inner web ; back grey, feathers slightly streaked 

 with black, and vermiculated with brown ; some bold white marks on the scapulars ; 

 wings greyish brown, barred with tawny brown ; tail brown, barred with rufous 

 brown, and vermiculated with dark brown ; facial disks grey, minutely spotted 

 with brown ; under parts greyish white, finely vermiculated and blotched with 

 brown ; beak black ; irides yellow ; claws black at tip but white at base. Length 

 7 1 inches. There is no difference in the plumage of the sexes, but the female is 

 slightly larger than the male. Young birds are more rufous than the adults. 



The Scops-Owl can always be easily distinguished from the Little Owl by its 

 tufts, and by its pretty vermiculated plumage. 



