THE LONG-EARED OWL. 
87 
its nests ; which, in consequence of the trees being young, were 
placed not higher than six feet from the ground. Two nests in 
Hillsborough Park, in the summer of 1848, were placed about 
twenty feet from the ground in dense silver firs of double that 
height. One of them, which was robbed about the 10th of June, 
contained three young (perhaps twelve days out) and an addled egg. 
The other nest at the same date contained four eggs. The first 
garb of the owlets is white down, but like that of the kestrel, 
when viewed en masse, of a light sandy-coloured tinge; their 
irides are yellow, of a lighter tint than in old birds. Their 
larder consisted at the early hour of five o'clock in the morning, 
when they were carried off, of three old sparrows, two of which 
were males. About Youghal, it builds “in ruined magpie's 
nests." * Mr. Poole mentions, that to a deserted magpie's nest 
which came under his notice, when appropriated by a pair of these 
owls, no addition was made, excepting a few soft feathers from 
the owl itself. The nest contained eggs on the 14th of March, 
and beside them lay a dead field-mouse. Another nest, examined 
by him, contained four owlets, two of which were so much 
larger then the others, as scarcely to appear to belong to 
the same brood. There were no castings under the tree in 
which this brood was brought up. The long-eared owl is com- 
mon in Tipperary f and Kerry ; J and is noticed as inhabiting 
chiefly fir plantations, in the former county. With respect to 
food, the stomachs of three which I have noted, contained : — 
One, a sparrow almost whole ; the second, portions of a large 
coleopterous insect; the third, the remains of three buntings. 
The stomach of a long-eared owl, shot at Killaloe, contained “ part 
of a rat, the skull of a mouse, and the heads of two sparrows." 
Dr. J. D. Marshall, of Belfast, informs me, that for five or six 
years, when he lived in High-street, opposite St. George's Church, 
he kept long and short-eared owls (S. otus and S. brachyotus ) 
instead of cats, and found them to be much more effective killers 
of rats and mice. Their patience was extraordinary. At the 
entrance to one rat -hole, which happened frequently to come under 
* Mr. R. Ball. f Mr. R. Davis. % Mr. Neligan. 
