88 
STRIGIDiE. 
his view, one of these birds was always stationed, until it succeeded 
in killing the whole of the inmates, consisting of a pair of old, 
and nine well-grown young ones. They were invariably seized 
with its foot by the back of the neck, so that the bird never 
suffered the slightest injury. Living rats, too, (as in the case of 
the kites already mentioned,) let out of the cage-trap, and a fair 
start given to them, were always captured by these owls, which 
kept up a violent screaming during the chase ; as they also did, 
when by their unaided efforts they had seized a rat, and, flapping 
their wings, hurried away to some retired spot to eat their prey. 
These owls had free access to the dwelling-house, and cleared it 
completely of mice ; as they did the yard and store, of rats. They 
were great pets, and very fond of having their ears rubbed. 
When the finger was applied to these organs, they were fully ex- 
panded, and the application was so pleasing to the bird that it 
gently fell asleep. Mr. B. Ball had once a young long-eared owl, 
which was permitted to fly wherever it pleased, and by choice it 
generally remained during the day in a grove of tall fir-trees. 
His call to it from a considerable distance was always answered 
by a loud melancholy cry, and when he reached the base of the 
tree on which the owl was, it came down and perched upon his 
hand. 
THE SHOET-EAEED OWL. 
Otus brachyotus , Eorster (sp.) 
Stria? ,, Gmel. 
Can only be announced with certainty as a regular 
winter visitant. 
Sir William Jardine has met with this species in its breeding 
haunts in Dumfries-shire, and given a most interesting account of 
it, as observed there.* Mr. Selby, too, considers from the cir- 
cumstance of his meeting with the short- eared owl on the Nor- 
thumbrian moors about the 12th of August, that it breeds on 
them ; + and Mr. Hoy ascertained that it bred in the south-west 
* His edition of Wilson’s Amer. Orn. vol. ii. p. 63 ; and Brit. Birds, vol. i. p. 286. 
f “ A few of them remain upon the moors of Northumberland, where Mr. Charlton 
