Page:VCH Worcestershire 1.djvu/196

 A HISTORY OF WORCESTERSHIRE is known to ornithologists as the ' western owl,' and a figure of it will be found in Dresser's Birds of Europe. I am happy to have been able to introduce it into the Wor- cestershire list. 94. Long-eared Owl. Am otus (Linn.). A resident bird, which may be said to be uncommon rather than rare ; the long-eared owl has hov/ever never been mentioned as breeding in Worcestershire. It is to a great extent a woodland species, and is partial to plantations in which there are many ever- greens, such as pines and spruce firs. 95. Short-eared Owl. Jsio accipitrinus (PaWns). Of this species Mr. Willis Bund says : ' Mostly autumn migrants ; a few reside,' which applies to Great Britain and not ex- clusively to Worcestershire. Lees speaks of it as of a rare occurrence in the Malvern dis- tricts. So far as I can learn there is no record of this species having ever bred in Worcester- shire, but it is not uncommon in some parts of the county as an autumn visitor. On the Cotteswold Hills it is not at all infrequent, and seems to prefer turnip fields. 96. Tawny or Brown Owl. Syrnium aluco (Linn.). This owl must be considered as the com- monest owl in Worcestershire. It has a much better idea of taking care of itself than the barn-owl, and will sometimes take up its quarters very near our dwellings and ob- serve so much caution that its presence would remain unknown were it not for its droppings which betray it. 97. Little Owl. Athene noctua (Scopoli). There are two undoubted Worcestershire specimens of this species, one in the Museum at Worcester and the other in the collection of the writer. The first was taken at Ear- diston, the residence of Sir C. S. Smith, but there is no record of the date, and the second was shot in the spring of 1897 at Lulsley, near Knightwick, in this county. It was first seen on the roof of some farm buildings, and was subsequently shot from there. 98. Scops-Owl. Scops giu (Scopoli). Besides the recorded specimen mentioned by Hastings, I have heard of one which was brought to the late veteran taxidermist of Worcester, Mr. H. Holloway, for preservation. It came into his hands between thirty and forty years ago, when freshly killed, but I have failed to gather any particulars concern- ing it. 158 99. Marsh-Harrier. Circus aruginosus (Linn.). About thirty years since a bird of this species was shot at Witley Court. I know of no other occurrence of this harrier in Wor- cestershire, and this solitary specimen is in immature plumage. 100. Hen-Harrier. Circus cyaneus (Linn.). The hen-harrier must now I think be mentioned as having formerly occurred in Worcestershire, not a straggler having ap- peared for some years. A female in the Worcester Museum was taken at Eardiston, but the date is not known. The latest occur- rence in the county of which I have any knowledge is that of a female which was shot near Shipston-on-Stour in 1877, and brought to Mr. Quartermain, of Stratford-on-Avon, for presen'ation, where I saw and examined it. [Montagu's Harrier. Circus cineraceus (Montagu). I possess an adult male which was shot a good many years ago at Sutton Coldfield in Warwickshire, not very distant from our county boundary.] lOi. Buzzard. Buteo vulgaris. Leach. Of late years the buzzard has become a rare bird in all the midland counties, its ap- pearance being confined to stragglers, few in number and far between. Only one speci- men of local occurrence is in the Worcester Museum, and that was taken at Croome Park. The latest Worcestershire specimen which I have heard of was killed at Witley Court in the early part of 1892, and brought to the late Mr. H. Holloway, of Worcester, for pre- servation. The buzzard was considered to be rare in the Malvern district so long ago as 1870, and Mr. W. Edwards regarded the occurrence of one at Eastnor in 1869 as worthy of record. It still breeds in Wales at no very great distance from the Worces- tershire boundary. 102. Sparrow-Hawk. Accipiter nisus (Linn.). Like all the birds of prey the sparrow-hawk is less frequently seen in the midland counties than it used to be ; though it cannot now be said to be otherwise than common, and it is certainly a resident bird, breeding for the most part in woods and coppices where it is least likely to be observed. The eggs are always, to the best of my knowledge, laid in an old nest of some other bird, as that of a crow or a magpie, often one that has been reduced by the wear of more than one winter to a lump of decayed sticks. The mere platform made by the ringdove has been known to serve the turn of the sparrow-hawk, but whatever is its