ASIO BEACHYOTUS 27 



OtUS palUStriS, O. galapagoensis, GouU and Darwin, Voy. 



" Beagle;' Birds, pp. 32, 33, pi. iii, 1841. 

 BrachyotUS palustriS, Gould, Birds of Great Britain, \, pi. xxxii, 



1863. 

 AsiO aCCipitrinUS, Sharpe, Gat. Birds Brit. Mus., ii, p. 234, 1875. 

 AsiO brachyotUS, Sdater and Hudson, Argentine Orn., ii, p. 49, 1889 ; 



Lilford, Birds British Islands, i, p. 95, pi. xlv, 1890. 



Habitat.— The Old and New Worlds. 



c?, Useless Bay Settlement, IStli Sept., 1904. 



Iris — dark yellow ; bill — dark grey ; feet — dark drab. 



What an exquisitely beautiful bird is the Short-eared Owl, in 

 its soft-coloured brown plumage beaded with silver round the 

 eye, of the nature of silky down rather than feathers ! 



This Owl is common in the vast marshes at the head of Use- 

 less Bay. It is often to be seen on the wing in daytime. So 

 accustomed are other birds to this Owl flying in their midst that 

 they hardly notice it. It can often be seen beating the marshes 

 in company with the Ashy Harrier, and occasionally the latter 

 dispute its presence. It constantly follows a man on foot or on 

 horseback, if not travelling too fast, for considerable distances, 

 circling round before and behind, either out of curiosity or to 

 turn one to account as a beater. Should one look up at it 

 intently, it immediately concentrates its gaze, turns its head 

 almost completely round as it circles, and screeches " Che-chef" 



In his account of this Owl, Gould says it is " so universally 

 dispersed as to render it probable that it may be observed 

 over the whole four continents, with the exception of the high 

 northern regions." 



" Wherever a bird breeds, that country may justly claim it 

 as one of its indigenous inhabitants : hence this Owl may be so 

 considered in the British Islands ; for although there is an 

 immigration from the north about the end of October, and a 

 corresponding diminution in spring, ^^et considerable numbers 

 did formerly, and many now, remain to breed in England, 

 Scotland and Ireland. We have abundant evidence that this 

 bird inhabits the African Continent, from north to south. 



5 



