SHORT*EARED OWL. 
59 
bird, and re-appearance again in the spring; very few, 
if any, remain during the whole season, and they are 
only met with in their migrations to and from the north, 
their breeding places, similar to the appearance, for a few 
days, of the ringouzels and dotterels ; in spring singly 
or in pairs, and in the fall in small groups, the amount 
of their broods when again retiring. 
“ It is only in the north of England, and over Scotland, 
that they will rank as summer visitants. Hoy and the 
other Hebrides where they were first discovered to breed, 
were considered the southern limit of their incubation. 
It extends, however, much farther, and may be, perhaps, 
stated as the extensive muirland ranges of Cumberland, 
Westmoreland, and Northumberland. Over all the Scot¬ 
tish muirs it occurs in considerable abundance ; there 
are few sportsmen who are unacquainted with it; many 
are killed during the grouse season, and those individuals 
which Mr. Selby mentions as found on upland moors I 
have no doubt bred there. 
“ On the extensive moors at the Head of Dryfe, a 
small rivulet in Dumfriesshire, I have formally years past 
met with one or two pairs of these birds, and the acci¬ 
dental 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 their 
migration southward. The young was discovered by one 
of my dogs pointing it, and in the following year, by 
searching at the proper season, two nests were found 
with five eggs. They were found upon the ground among 
the heath, the bottom of the nest scraped until the fresh 
earth appeared, on which the eggs were placed, without 
any lining or other accessory covering. When approach¬ 
ing the nest or young, the old birds fly and hover round, 
uttering a shrill cry, and snapping with their bills; they 
