BARN-OWL— LONG-EARED OWL. 
127 
Mr. Meade-Waldo considers this bird scarce in the New 
Forest district, but there are several colonies along the 
south coast between Christchurch and Eling. The forest 
people say they are driven away by the tawny owls ; and 
at Laverstoke once, a barn and tawny owl were found 
quite dead with their talons tightly driven into each other. 
Dr. Bowdler Sharpe tells of a nest at Avington that 
was found to have over forty freshly-killed field-mice, 
which must have been caught during the preceding night.' 
Family — Asionidce. 
Genus — Asio. 
119. Asio otus. Long-eared Owl. 
Horned Owl. 
A local resident on the mainland, common in suitable 
districts, but not so plentiful in the Isle of Wight. Many 
migrants arrive in autumn. In the central district they are 
found in most of the woods, and are particularly numerous 
in large plantations of larch and fir. Though the eggs are 
usually hatched at the end of March, young birds have 
been found in February and eggs in October, so that we 
may consider the nesting season as lasting over the greater 
part of the year. 
The young are easily reared and soon able to shift 
for themselves, but they are usually fierce and untamable, 
throwing themselves on their backs when approached, 
' Lloyd's Natural History." 
