crow's nest. Kestrels seem to be most numerous during the late summer, when the hay is stacked and the corn carried; and, as this is the season when the field-mice and meadow-mice would then take up their comfortable quarters for the winter in such store-houses, the kestrels do great good to the farmer by keeping them down. In this efficient work they are ably joined by the Barn Owl. If you are out in the dusky part of the evening you may see the latter bird silently sweeping over the meadows and fields, a foot or two above the ground, mouse-hunting. It flits across the lane like a white ghost, and almost startles you by its sudden nearness. If you examine one of these birds you cannot but admire the soft plumage, which renders their flight almost noiseless. It is singularly in contrast with the stiff feathers of those birds of prey that affect the daytime. But it is not difficult to see that if the owls had a similar plumage to the hawks, it would be in vain for them to go out mousing. Our field mice are amongst the most active, as well as the most timid of mammals, and the slightest sound would cause them to hide up. Possibly, such a ramble as that just supposed may make you acquainted with the short-eared owl (Strix brachyotus), especially if your walk is towards the end of September. In the south of England this bird then makes its first appearance to stay for the winter; but there is reason to believe that in some parts of this country it abides the whole year round. It is only in the northerly parts of Britain, however, that such is the case, and this is a good instance of how a migratory habit over-laps, so to speak, that of a continuous stay. It loves the open country, and roosts on the ground, under the shelter of dry grass or heath. The keen sight of this bird is proverbial among naturalist-sportsmen. The Kite (Milvus regalis), is now comparatively rare in this country, a circumstance that is as much due to the felling of our woods, where it formerly bred, as to the wholesale destruction to which all birds of prey have been subjected by game-keepers and others. Formerly, it was just as common as it is now scarce, and it was then much in use for hawking purposes. All the kites may be distinguished by their long, forked tails. This bird is still common in Algeria, and the Rev. Dr. Tristram states that it there readily approaches man, and hangs about the Arabs' camps, waiting for the offal, and keeping an eye on the poultry stock. It is a noblelooking bird, and it is more than doubtful whether we have not lost more than we have gained by its comparative extinction. Another rare British bird, which was also once common, is the Hobby (Hypotriorchis subbuteo), a closely allied form to the falcons. It is a summer migrant whenever it does visit us, departing in the winter months, for southern Russia and the Crimea, where it is very common. There, on the smallest group of trees, you may be sure of finding at least one nest of this bird. It feeds on small birds, and seems to have a preference for the larks. It is also common along both shores of the Fig. 80. MUFFLE The Kite (Milous regalis). Mediterranean, the Sahara being its southern limit, as it also is of many other birds, both raptorial and otherwise, which may be called "British." Geology |