ˈfern-owl
[f. fern n.1 + owl.]
a. The Nightjar or Goatsucker, Caprimulgus europæus; b. the Short-eared owl, Asio brachyotus.
| a. 1678 Ray Willughby's Ornith. ii. iii. §i. 107 The Fern-owl..or Goat-sucker, Caprimulgus. 1793 G. White Selborne (1853) II. xxx. 246 Not long after a fern owl was procured. 1832–5 E. Jesse Glean. Nat. Hist. (1843) 221 The fern-owl, or night-jar. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. II. iii. 44 'Midst bittern's boom and fern-owl's cry. |
| b. 1885 Swainson Prov. Names Brit. Birds 129 Short-eared owl..Fern-Owl (Ireland). |