Page:The Natural History of Ireland vol1.djvu/112

 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. E. 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 winch the owl was, it came down and perched upon his hand.

Otus brachyotus, Forster (sp.)

Strix Gmel.

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 Ins meeting with the short- eared owl on the Nor- thumbrian moors about the 12th of August, that it breeds on them ; f and Mr. Hoy ascertained that it bred in the south-west

His edition of Wilson's Amer. Orn. vol. ii. p. 63 ; ami Brit. Birds, vol. i. p. 286.

t "A few of them remain upon the moors of Northumberland, where Mr. Charlton