BIRDS OF DUMFRIESSHIRE 
a rule this species is rather silent, and certainly does not 
' hoot ' hke the Tawny Owl."* 
THE SHORT-EARED OWL. Asio accipitrinus (Pallas). 
A very local resident. 
In his correspondence with P. J. Selby, Sir WiUiam Jardine 
has three interesting references to this species. On 
December 18th, 1825, he wrote from Jardine Hall : "I 
shot a Short-eared Owl (S. hrachyotus) on the muir 
yesterday, it is now late for that species."t Agam on 
September 5th, 1829, he informs his friend that " when out 
on the 12th August, I had a dead point, and when gomg up 
full of expectation discovered a half-fledged Short-eared 
Owl, and on consulting the herds find they breed yearly ; 
eenerally two pairs on a bare peat hag, laying six eggs. 
Did you know this ? "J On December 12th, 1831, he 
writes : " Nichol brought me a Short-eared Owl yesterday, 
shot very near their breeding place on the Hills. Will 
they not be constant visitants ? a female containing a golden 
plover. "§ ^ . 
Sir WiUiam Jardine was one of the first to give a good 
account of the breeding of this species. He wntes as 
follows : "On the extensive muirs at the head of the 
Dryfe, a smaU rivulet in Dumfriesshire, I have for many 
years past met with one or two pairs of these birds ; and 
the accidental discovery of their young first turned my 
attention to the range of their breeding ; for, previous to 
this, I also held- the opinion that they had commenced 
* Man. Brit. Birds, 1899, p. 294. 
t Sir W. Jardine, in litt., to P. J. Selby, December 18th, 1825. 
X Id., September 5th, 1829. 
§ Id., December 12th, 1831. 
