252 



circumcincta : corpore subtus ochraceo, nigro-fusco striato : crisso et pedibus ad ungues plumis lanatis 

 pallide ochraceis immaculatis tectis : rostro nigricanti-corneo : iride aurantiaca, : unguibus saturate 

 corneis. 



Adult Female (Sterlingshire, 30th March). Crown between the tufts and forehead ochreous varied with 

 greyish white and brownish black, the feathers on the sides barred with the last colour, tufts, consisting 

 of about seven elongated feathers, deep brownish black, on the inner margin greyish white, and on the 

 outer margin ochreous ; nape, hind neck, sides of the neck and upper part of the back ochreous, striped 

 with tolerably broad brownish black streaks ; back, rump, upper tail-coverts, secondaries, and wing- 

 coverts ochreous, speckled and marked with blackish, greyish white, and brown; primaries, except towards 

 the tip, brownish rufescent ochreous broadly barred with blackish brown, the terminal portion tinged 

 with sooty grey and slightly vermiculated with greyish black ; tail dull rufescent ochreous barred and 

 slightly vermiculated with blackish brown ; facial disk pale brownish with a faint ochreous tinge, the 

 feathers on the inner side of the eye blackish ; the ruff or frill round the disk white at the base and 

 tipped with black ; ear-coverts ochreous vermiculated with brownish black ; underparts ochreous striped 

 with brownish black ; on the abdomen are a few indistinct and irregular bars ; legs and toes uniform 

 pale ochreous ; bill dark horn ; iris orange-yellow ; claws horn-colour. Total length about 14 inches, 

 culmen l'l, wing ll - 5, tail 5'9, tarsus 1'6. 



Adult Male (Sterlingshire). Resembles the female, but is paler in general coloration. Culmen 1 - 1, wing 

 ll - 2, tail 5"9, tarsus 1*55. 



Nestling (Rhenish Prussia). Head and neck covered with greyish dusky down; upper parts covered with 

 fluffy pale ochreous grey feathers barred with dull brown ; wings and tail, which are just appearing, as 

 in the adult, but greyer, and but little tinged with ochreous ; facial disk blackish brown margined with 

 light brown ; underparts dull light ochreous grey faintly barred with dull sooty brown. 



The Long-eared Owl inhabits Europe generally, from the extreme south up to about 64° N. lat., 

 and visits North Africa during the winter. In Asia it is found as far east as China and Japan, 

 and as far south as North-west India. 



In Great Britain it is very generally distributed in wooded localities and resident ; but in 

 the eastern counties its numbers are in the autumn augmented by migration. It appears to 

 be less common in some localities than in others. Mr. Man sel-Pley dell says, " it is not a very 

 common species in Dorsetshire, though, in Dr. Pulteney's time, it was frequently met with in 

 the chase-woods, whence I saw a nest of owlets about eight years ago. There is a pair of adults 

 preserved at Bryanston. I have seen them at Whatcombe and Houghton, but very rarely." 

 Mr. Stevenson says that in Norfolk the numbers of those which remain to breed is considerably 

 on the increase, owing chiefly to the spread of cultivation. In Western Scotland it is, Mr. Robert 

 Gray says (B. of W. of Scotl. p. 56), " less common than the Short-eared Owl, and totally absent 

 from the outer islands. It breeds, however, in Mull and Skye in limited numbers. In the cul- 

 tivated districts of Dumbartonshire it is tolerably common, and in Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, and 

 Argyleshire woods it is also well known ; still, as a rule, it is more a bird of the eastern counties 

 than of the western. Mr. Alston states that it is common in the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire ; 

 and in Stirlingshire it is said by Mr. Brown to be one of the commonest species. Yet, judging 

 by the numbers sent to the city bird-stuffers, it is seldom met with, compared with other species." 



