Short-eared Owl 
- several respects this bird differs a good deal 
from other members of its family. It is not so 
a” 
“ owl-like ’ in appearance as most of them, for its head is 
actually smaller in circumference than its neck. It flies 
by day quite as much as by night; it nests upon the 
ground ; and instead of living in woods, or in old buildings, 
it prefers the open fields. It is a migrant, too, coming 
over to this country in considerable numbers at about 
the same time as the woodcock, and leaving again, with 
that bird, in the spring. For this reason it is often 
known as the Woodcock Owl. At this season it is fre- 
quently flushed in turnip fields by sportsmen. When 
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