Asio o t u s (Linmeus*).
THE LONG-EARED OWL.
Otus vulgaris t.
Asio, BrissonZ.—Beak decurved from the base'; eere large; under mandible
notched. Nostrils oval, oblique. Facial disk complete. Conch of the ear
extremely large, with a semicircular operculum running the whole length in front,
and a raised margin behind ; auditory opening asymmetrical. Wings long; the
second quill-feather generally the longest. Legs and toes feathered to the claws.
Head furnished with two tufts, more or less elongated.
T h e L o n g -e a r e d O w l , f r o m t h e v a r i e t y a n d b e a u t y of
t h e m a r k i n g s o n i t s p l u m a g e , i s a v e r y h a n d s o m e s p e c i e s ,
* Strix otus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 132 (1766).
+ Fleming, British Animals, p. 60 (1828).
J Ornithologie, i. p. 677 (1760).
a n d b y n o m e a n s u n c o m m o n i n m o s t w o o d e d d i s t r i c t s .
I n d e e d o w in g t o t h e g e n e r a l i n c r e a s e o f p l a n t a t i o n s , a n d
e s p e c i a lly o f t h o s e f o rm e d o f t h e e v e r g r e e n f i r s , i t i s p r o b a b l y
y e a r b y y e a r g r o w i n g m o r e n u m e r o u s t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y .
It does not require a large, or even very retired wood, a few
comparatively-small but thick trees afford it sufficient shelter
during the day, when it seldom if ever stirs from its roost,
unless disturbed. I t then noiselessly flaps its broad wings
and sails away to some other perch, displaying great self-
possession, and apparently but little incommoded by the
glare even of the 110011-tide sun.
This species of Owl remains in this country throughout
the year. It makes little or 110 noise, except when young,
so that even where most abundant its existence is often
least suspected. I t feeds chiefly upon rats, mice and voles,
but small birds occasionally enter into its dietary. In the
stomach of one individual, Selby found five skulls of mice ;
and one I examined contained the remains of a Goldfinch.
Mr. Gould mentions that one of his correspondents had
recognized the remains of the Wheatear, Willow-Wren,
Yellow Bunting, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Bullfinch in
the pellets rejected by this Owl, and it possibly obtains
these birds by taking them when at roost.
The Long-eared Owl makes 110 nest for itself, but usually
takes to the deserted habitation of some other bird, when
of sufficient size for its own wants; or more often rears its
young in the old drey of a squirrel. The eggs are four or five
in number, oval, smooth and white, measuring from 1'78 to
1-45 by 1-35 to 1"21 in. The young, hatched by the end of
April, are then covered with white down, and do not quit
the nest during the first month; when they do, says Selby,
“ they take up their abode in some adjoining tree, and for
many subsequent days, indeed for weeks, may be heard after
sunset uttering a plaintive but loud call for food; during
which time the parent birds are seen diligently employed in
hawking for prey.”
The Long-eared Owl inhabits Great Britain from Cornwall
to Caithness, and in the eastern counties its numbers receive