THE HORNED OWLS. 
99 
Short-enred Owl is often flushed in open ground, such as tur- 
nip-fields, especially towards the end of October, when the 
general migration of the species takes place in England, about 
the time of the coming-in of the Woodcock. From the latter 
circumstance it is probably called in so many places the 
“ Woodcock ” Owl, or this name may also be acquired by its 
similarly twisting flight. It is essentially a bird of the open, 
and I have even seen it on the south coast, frequenting the 
banks and reedy ditches of Pagham Harbour in Sussex, where 
I once shot an early migrant on the 3rd of September. It 
flies well in the daylight, and may often be seen hunting for 
food in the full glare of the sun, which seems to incommode 
this species but little. It feeds on all the small Rodents, and 
was of great use during the vole-plague in 1892, when the 
Short-eared Owls came to the rescue of the farmers, and as 
many as four hundred of their nests were found in the infected 
districts of Southern Scotland. The same flocking of Owls 
occurred during a similar plague many years ago in the Forest 
of Dean in Gloucestershire. The Short-eared Owl is also said 
to feed on small birds, as well as occasionally on bats, fish, 
reptiles, and beetles. During his recent expedition to the 
Salvage Islands, which lie between Madeira and the Canaries, 
Mr. Ogilvie-Grant found two pairs of Short-eared Owls on the 
largest island of the group, where they found plenty of food in 
the shape of a powerful little mouse, which fed in turn on the 
unfortunate Petrels {P. marina) which were breeding in num- 
bers on the summit of the rocky island. 
Nest.— On the ground, often in quite an exposed situation. 
No regular nest is made, the eggs being laid in a depression 
of the ground, or in a tuft of heather, in the moorland 
districts. 
Eggs. — From six to eight in number, and sometimes as many 
as twelve have been found. They are generally laid in ^lay, 
but have also been found as early as the first week in April. 
The eggs are very much like those of the Long-eared Owl, 
white, and with scarcely any gloss. Mr. Seebohm says that 
some examples can scarcely be distinguished from those of 
the Hawk- Owl. Axis i'5S- i 65 inch ; diam., i-2-i-3. 
H 2 
