86 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Nestling. — Down pale creamy-buff to pale warm buff on upper- 

 parts, base of down dark brown along wing, at base of wing 

 and on each side of mantle, forming dark lines or narrow patches, 

 white with very slight buffish tinge on under -parts. Fairly 

 short, soft and plentiful, covering whole body fairly well and 

 tarsi and toes to base of claws, with a bare patch at back of 

 tarsal joint. 



Juvenile. — Feathers of body and greater, median and lesser 

 wing-coverts of very loose structure, especially on crown, rump 

 and under -parts. Crown and rump dark brown, feathers tipped 

 buff ; mantle same but also with incomplete buff bars, which in 

 scapulars and wing-coverts are more complete but do not quite 

 meet in centre of feather ; facial disk brown-black, feathers tipped 

 buff and a greyish -buff patch at base of mandibles ; chin and throat 

 brown, feathers with long buff tips ; rest of under -parts warm buff, 

 feathers with narrow brown centres except those in centre of belly, 

 lower flanks, under tail-coverts, and tarsi and toes, which are 

 uniform buff. 



First winter. — Like adults. The juvenile body -plumage, lesser, 

 median and greater coverts commence to moult when wings and 

 tail are only starting to grow, but moult often not complete until 

 October. Primaries, secondaries, primary-coverts and tail-feathers 

 are not moulted. 



Measurements and structure. — (J wing 300-325 mm., tail 141-151, 

 tarsus 33-42, bill from feathers 25-29 (14 British measured). $ wing 

 290-323. Primaries : 2nd longest, 3rd occasionally as long but 

 usually 4-12 mm. shorter, 1st 10-22 shorter, 4th 18-30 shorter, 5th 

 37-55 shorter ; outer edge of 1st serrated but serrations much 

 shorter than in Long -eared Owl, 2nd slightly emarginated at distal 

 end and this portion with short serrations, outer edge of outer 

 feather of " bastard " wing also with short serrations. Rest 

 of structure as Long -eared Owl but tail slightly more rounded. 



Soft parts. — Bill dark horn, tip paler ; claws black ; iris 

 bright golden -yellow. 



Characters and allied form. — A. f. leucopsis (west Siberia, 

 Turkestan to Transcaspia) has ground-colour pale on upper -parts 

 and white on under-parts but this appears to be a variable and 

 uncertain form requiring further investigation. Much shorter 

 " horns," more definitely streaked appearance without freckling 

 on upper -parts and flanks distinguish it at once from Long-eared 

 Owl. 



Field -characters. — More diurnal in habit than most Owls, and, 

 unlike them, is not arboreal, but spends its resting hours on the 

 ground. Frequents open country at all seasons ; moors, bogs, 

 fens, and, in winter, is often flushed from turnip-fields. Wings 

 appear to be longer and narrower than Long -eared Owl's, and 

 plumage is paler, lacking transverse bars on breast, and blotched 

 rather than streaked, whilst ear-tufts are hardlv discernible, even 



