94 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



does not hesitate to stoop at and strike head of an intruder with its 

 sharp talons. 



Breeding-habits. — Prefers well -wooded districts, especially where 

 old timber is mixed with some conifers. Makes no nest, breeding 

 sometimes in holes of trees or old nests of Rook, Magpie, Heron, 

 etc., occasionally but not often in barns, or ledges of rock, and also 

 at times on ground, in rabbit-hole, or sheltered by stone or scrub. 

 Eggs. — White, normally 2 to 4 in number ; sets of 5 occasional 

 and six recorded. Apparent clutches of seven and eight may be 

 two layings in same hole. Average of 100 British eggs, 46.7 X 39. 

 Max. : 50.4 x 38 and 47 X 41.2. Min. : 42.3 X 36. Breeding-season. 

 — Latter half of March and early April. Incubation. — Begins 

 with first laid egg and is performed by hen only ; probably about 

 28 days, but one egg said to have hatched out on 23rd day. Eggs 

 laid at intervals of 2 (or 3) days. Single brooded. 



Food. — Among mammals chiefly common shrew, long -tailed field 

 mouse and short-tailed field vole ; occasionally brown rat, water 

 rat, bank vole, lesser shrew, young rabbit or leveret, and more 

 rarely squirrel, mole and house mouse. Of birds, Sparrows and 

 Starlings are far most often found in pellets ; Thrush, Blackbird, 

 Mistle-Thrush, Chaffinch, Brambling, Bunting sp. ? and once 

 remains of Green Woodpecker recorded. Fish not very infrequent, 

 frogs and a toad also found ; mollusca (Limax agrestis) and worms 

 on record. Insects : chiefly coleoptera (Melolontha, Geotrupes, 

 Necrophorus, etc.), and lepidoptera (Mamestra brassicce and various 

 Noctuce) ; also Perla (sp. ?). 



Distribution. — Confined to Great Britain. Resident. Generally 

 distributed but becoming uncommon in Sutherland and very rare 

 Caithness ; very doubtful if ever occurred Orkneys or Shetlands, 

 and has certainly not O. Hebrides or Ireland. 



Distribution.— Abroad. — Replaced by typical form in Europe 

 generally, to forest-limit, east to Caucasus, Palestine, and north 

 Persia and in south-west Persia and north-west Africa by closely- 

 allied subspecies. 



Genus TYTO Billb. 



Tyto Billberg, Synops. Faunae Scand., I, 2, tab. A (1828 — New name for 

 Strix Savigny 1809, which is the genus of Barn-Owls). 



Medium-sized Owls of great beauty, underside of British 

 satiny -white or with buff tinge and few dusky dots. Several dis- 

 tinctive characters in skeleton. Facial disk most conspicuous, and 

 reaching far above eyes. Ear nearly as long as skull, but open- 

 ing small, operculum much larger than it would seem necessary. 



