THE SHORT-EARED OWL 67 
them to the feast not appearing to have been equal to lead them to shift their 
quarters elsewhere when all the voles had been devoured. The cause of the 
plague was assigned to the destruction of Owls by game-keepers; the absence of 
nature’s check had enabled the voles to multiply until they became a formidable 
pest. Montagu records a similar instance in the neighbourhood of Bridgwater, 
when a large portion of the vegetation was destroyed by an immense swarm of 
mice, and in the autumn a great many Short-eared Owls resorted to prey upon 
them. Besides devouring countless mice the Short-eared Owl will also capture 
small birds, such as Larks and Yellow Hammers, an occasional Plover or Grouse, 
rats, voles, bats, beetles, and fish. 
Numbers of the Short-eared Owl, according to Gatke, are seen on the tiny 
island of Heligoland, during the spring and autumn migration. The people of 
the island ‘‘ pursue this bird very zealously, and assert that, roasted, they furnish 
the finest dish a man could wish for. The birds are, as a rule, pretty fat, and 
their white flesh certainly looks very tender and appetising.’’ In their short stay 
on the island these Owls appear to feed on rabbits, and also upon the smaller 
birds that are migrating in their company. ‘‘ During dark autumn nights, when 
a strong migration is in progress, and Larks, Thrushes, and other species swarm 
round the lighthouse in great numbers, this Owl may very often be seen darting 
up suddenly from the surrounding darkness into the glaring light of the lantern, 
and with dexterous beatings of the wing disappearing again with equal rapidity. 
Immediately afterwards, the plaintive cry of a Thrush announces with what 
certainty this robber plies his trade in the course of his nocturnal flight.”’ 
This Owl makes no nest beyond scratching a slight hollow in the ground 
where it rakes together a little dry grass in a slovenly fashion; the nest is 
occasionally placed under a small bramble or furze-bush for protection; the eggs 
are from three to six, sometimes seven, or even more, in number, are white and 
smooth, and measure from 1°74 to 1°37 inches in length, by from 1°33 to 115 
inches in breadth. Sometimes they are speckled over with a few spots of dark 
red; the writer has seen such a clutch, taken in the Orkney Isles. This species 
nests late; its eggs are rarely found before the middle of May. 
The Short-eared Owl has the head comparatively small; the tufts are about 
3ths inches in length, and are elevated or depressed at pleasure: they are said to 
be erect when the bird is sleeping, and depressed when it is disturbed. The 
general colour of the plumage is dark buff, broadly streaked and blotched with 
dark brown; wings barred with brown; tail buff, tipped with white, and barred 
with brown; under parts ochreous, with blackish-brown streaks; legs and toes 
covered with pale buff feathers; facial disk buff, streaked with dark brown, the 
