WOOD-OWL. 155 



Tlie Wood-Owl is not generally a migratory bird ; nor does its range 

 extend far to the nortli. Under the influence of the Gulf-stream, the 

 winters in Scandinavia are mild enough to allow of its finding food u.p 

 to the Arctic circle. In West Russia its range does not extend to Arch- 

 angel ; and in East Russia it is said not to be found north of lat. 58°. It 

 has never been recorded from Siberia ; but it is a rare resident in Tur- 

 kestan, the Himalayas, and Thibet. Pere David found it at Moupin ; and 

 Swinhoe obtained it in North China, The southern range of the Wood- 

 Owl extends into North Africa. In Algeria it is a resident ; and it has 

 once occurred in Egypt. It is found in Asia Minor and Palestine, and 

 has been obtained in the Caucasus, but not yet in Persia. Like many 

 other birds, and especially other Owls, it has adapted itself to its surround- 

 ings, so that the colours of its plumage are " protective " — not to protect 

 it from any enemies, but to protect it from discovery by its prey. Tlie 

 tropical form of the Wood-Owl breeds in the Himalayas and is a very 

 rufous bird. Some ornithologists treat it as a distinct species under the 

 name of S. nivicolum. The typical form of the Wood-Owl, commonly 

 known as the Tawny Owl, is an intermediate link between the tropical 

 form and the semi-arctic form commonly known as the Grey Ow). 

 The tropical form inhabits a region where the rainfall is excessive, the 

 typical form, as a general rule, where the rainfall is moderate, and the 

 grey form where the climate is very dry. In the British Museum is an 

 example of the grey form from Thibet ; and I have a skin from North 

 China. In Europe the grey form is principally found in the north and 

 east, and occurs also in North Africa ; but it is diflBcult to account very 

 precisely for the geographical distribution of these two forms, as the females 

 and young of the grey form are more rufous than the adult males, and 

 both forms appear to have occasionally strayed to some extent out 

 of their beat, as if the cause which produced the difference of colour had. 

 ceased to exist. 



The Tawny or "Wood "-Owl, as it is often called^ differs greatly from 

 the well-known Barn-Owl, both in the colour of its plumage, its haunts, 

 and its notes. The Tawny Owl is a dull and sombre bird, well adapted to 

 escape discovery in its gloomy haunt in the quiet and seclusion of the 

 forest. It sometimes chooses a retreat in the thick pine-woods or in the 

 tangled game-coverts where the undergrowth is dense and the timber well 

 matured. It also frequents the oak-forests, selecting a home in the 

 interior of one of the decaying giants that for centuries has withstood the 

 assaults of time and tempest, and where the solitude is rarely broken, 

 except by the laugh of the Woodpecker, the murmur of the Doves, and the 

 Pheasant's harsh and discordant moining and evening call. In some in- 

 stances I have known this bird choose a hole in a ruin or a cave for its 

 daily resting-place ; but such instances are rare. The Tawny Owl is also 



