1909-1910-] The Long-Eared Owl. 259 



in winter. We knew that the fiat of the authorities had gone 

 forth — the Long- eared Owl resides in this country, but by 

 this time we had found bird-book law regarding Long-eared 

 Owls more honoured in the breach than in the observance, and 

 for that matter had ceased to be surprised at anything Long- 

 eared Owls did. Our preliminary grounds for suspecting 

 their absence were the statements of certain Irish observers, 

 who declared that the Long-eared Owl commenced his seasonal 

 call in January. Now, we had never heard any Long-eared 

 note, seasonal or unseasonal, until March, and it seemed quite 

 probable that Long-eared Owls might remain throughout the 

 year in genial Ireland, and yet resolutely refuse to endure 

 the rigours of a West Lothian winter. Our evidence, how- 

 ever, was so meagre that during the opening weeks of 1909 

 we did little else but hunt for more. The trees in the Scots 

 fir corner of E. wood — more particularly the bushy fir which 

 had been the male Long-eared Owl's favourite roosting-tree 

 during the previous nesting season — were subjected to a daily 

 scrutiny. But we saw nothing of Long - eared Owls there 

 until February 7. That afternoon a bird was perched in the 

 favourite tree. It had not been there on the 6th ; it was 

 there again on the 8th, and it continued to be seen practic- 

 ally every day until March 6 — fairly strong evidence, we 

 thought, that the bird had been absent from the wood before 

 that time. Some time in March it disappeared, and was not 

 seen again all season. We can state very positively that 

 there was no Long-eared Owl's nest in E. wood that year. 

 Every old tree-nest in the wood was " tapped " a score of 

 times : on many evenings we came into the wood and listened 

 at first for the low " whee " of the old bird, later on for the 

 cry of the young. Even if we had missed the nest, which in 

 view of our systematic hunting was almost inconceivable, we 

 must have heard the hunger-call of the young. The season 

 in E. wood passed without a Long-eared Owl sound. 



Pursuing our winter studies, on February 28 we visited 

 the Thicket. The old Magpie nest used by the Owls in the 

 previous year was still intact — the Magpie is no jerry-builder, 

 — and we stood under it for a few moments reviving fond 

 memories. Then, prompted by some second-nature impulse, 

 we struck the tree. Almost simultaneously a Long-eared 



