“This bird seems less courageous than surly and quarrelsome, and yet it is asserted that it will fight to the death with the Golden Eagle, when attacked by the latter. The Eagle Owl is a powerful bird, and as there are no bounds to its fury, it is but rarely that anything escapes from its grasp. Though strictly nocturnal in its habits, it always keeps a good look out for its own safety in the daytime, and is ever shy and cautious. Keen of sight and hearing, it takes wing while the danger is still far off. Like other Owls, this bird is fond of pressing itself against the stem of a tree, with unruffled feathers, so as to closely imitate the stump of a tree, and thus escape detection. Inasmuch as deep clefts in the rocks, or the thickest of trees, are its usual retreats, the Owl is often passed over, which fact is undoubtedly an advantage, for the day birds mob it whenever they see it. They may possibly have made it the savage, spiteful bird it is, inasmuch as their system of constant irritation would be sufficient to try the temper of the mildest individual. Thus nothing remains for the Owl but to evade its disturbers, and hide itself as long as possible; but woe betide it if discovered, for then the friends of daylight treat it to a ‘charivari’ without equal.
“The first to arrive on the scene is the ubiquitous Crow, conducted thither by some inquisitive warbler who has discovered the enemy’s retreat. The Crow thoroughly understands what the little fellow means, and hastens to convince itself of the truth of the information. Having satisfied itself, it retires noiselessly, but only to carry the news to its relatives. Now they flock in from all sides to take part in the fight, with an eagerness worthy of the boldest man; greeting one another with hoarse and scornful croaks, the sooty tribe hasten as fast as they can to the scene of action. The mockers surround the poor old ‘Grand Duke,’ at first at a respectful distance, though they are fully determined effectively to disturb its siesta. There sits the Owl, rolling its eyes, spitting, snapping its beak, and ruffling its feathers, now hopping from one leg to another, now raising and lowering its feathered horns by turns; mad with rage, bemoaning its fate, and at loggerheads with the whole world, it awaits the turn that matters may take; at the same time, be it remembered, every Crow takes good care not to lay hold of the irritated gentleman; nothing less than a Raven dares to rely on its own strength. One of these, however, will run a tilt at the dark knight, using its sharp beak as a lance; but before the latter has time to raise the terrible claw, the Raven makes good its retreat, prepares for another rush, and darts like an arrow, so as to use its weapon effectively. The Owl now loses the last remnant of patience, and seeks safety in flight. Oh, unlucky wight! this is all the black swarm have been waiting for, the Crows being far its superiors on the wing. Giving vent to exulting cries, they dart down from above with such unerring aim and force as to scatter the poor brute’s feathers in clouds to the wind: they rise again with a mighty noise that heeds no secrecy, as though they sought to proclaim to the world at large all the fell deeds committed by this Prince of Darkness, while other knights advance to battle. All Hawks and Falcons, ay, the proud Eagle even, answer to the call, and hasten to take part in the fray. Now the Owl must, perforce, either beat a hasty retreat or remain on the field. In any case, however, the Owl is thoroughly worried, and sometimes really damaged, before it finds refuge in some thick tree or rocky cleft, where it hides itself as closely and as silently as its rage will permit, until quit of the Crows.
“The detestation in which the Eagle Owl is held by all diurnal birds is not ill-founded, for this bird preys on every living creature it can overcome, assassinating them in the most abominable manner while they are asleep. Its quarry is as follows:—Fawns of the Roe Deer, Hares, Rabbits, Hamsters, Rats, Moles, Mice, Capercailzie, Black-game, Hazel-hens, Pheasants, Partridges, Rooks, Jays, Magpies, Snakes, Lizards, and Frogs; Rooks seem to be its favourite morsel. No wonder, then, that they pay their enemy out if they can only see an opportunity. It assassinates them; they attack it in open day. The Eagle Owl generally breaks the spine of the smaller animals close to the head, and, cracking the remaining bones, devours its prey, skin and all; the heads of the larger birds it pulls in large pieces which it swallows. It, however, always devours a portion of the hair, feathers, or scales as well, and wastes away if fed on flesh alone. The indigestible portions of the meal are thrown up in large round pellets or ‘casts.’ With larger animals, it lays open the skin of the belly, and eats out the flesh from inside. If it finds that there is too much for one meal, it carefully replaces the skin, and hides the remainder in some dark cranny or corner until required again. This Owl drinks rarely, slaking its thirst generally with the blood of its victims. If food is plentiful, it gorges itself; but in times of dearth it can go without food for weeks together.
SNOWY OWL.
“By the last fortnight in March the Eagle Owls commence preparations for breeding. At this season may be heard their hollow, muffled cry of ‘poohoo, poohoo,’ which is distinguishable at a great distance through the woods, and it is not to be wondered that the timid are frightened at it. In the silent, dark recesses of the mountain forest a variety of noises, well calculated to make one’s flesh creep, fall upon the ear: the shrill, mocking laugh, a sound as of snarling hounds; the whoop of the hunter, the snorting of Horses; these are all calculated to impress the uneducated and superstitious with the truth of the legend of the wild huntsman. Even to the ear of the better-informed, these hideous cries, the loud screech of the female, or the ‘poohoo’ of the male, intermingled with the snapping of the beak and curious miaulings, sound somewhat weird; and the boldest of mortals can scarcely repress a cold shudder when a company of these forest spirits favour him with one of their demoniacal nocturnal concerts. Doubtless these sounds represent the battle-cries of the males when fighting for the females, and take the place of the song of the Nightingale when telling its tale of love.
“After the Owls have paired these cries are heard less frequently, both birds being now fully occupied with their nursery operations. The large nest is composed outwardly of branches and sticks, and is lined with dry leaves and small twigs. It is built, and generally placed in either the cleft of a rock or in a hole in some ruined tower; the nest is never built in a tree but from necessity. The two or three eggs are also often found lying on the bare surface of the rock, without any nest whatever. They are round, cross-grained, and white, and somewhat larger than a hen’s egg. The young are hatched in about three weeks. They are usually two in number, rarely three; they look, on their first appearance, like balls of cotton-wool, and keep up a constant hissing or shrill whistle. They remain a long time in the nest, and are so abundantly provided with food by the parent birds, that one is sure to find a large heap of provisions at the nest. The Owlets often betray their presence to their innumerable enemies by their cries, and suffer much persecution in consequence. When about eight weeks old they are able to fly, though they still remain for some time longer under the care of the old birds. These latter rarely wander far from a particular neighbourhood, and usually build in the very same place the following year.”
SHORT-EARED OWL.
Besides the Eagle Owls, the sub-family Buboninæ contains the Snowy Owl (Nyctea[217] scandiaca[218]), all the Hawk Owls (Surnia[219] Ninox[220]), and the Pigmy Owlets (Glaucidium[221]). Many of the birds belonging to this latter genus are not much bigger than a Sparrow. They are found nearly all over the world, with the exception of Australia and Oceania, and one species, the European Pigmy Owlet (G. passerinum[222]), is by no means uncommon in many parts of the Continent, though it has not yet been met with for certain in the British Islands.