A Little Night Music? by Hedge-sparrow

Puzzle explanation

The extra letters in wordplay spelt out “Then nightly sings the staring owl, tu-whoo; Shakespeare”, from a poem in Love’s Labour’s Lost (act V, scene ii). The letter changes in the SW-NE diagonal formed the next words, “Tu-whit tu-whoo”. The seven highlighted words described owls native to or breeding in Britain: BARN, EAGLE, LITTLE, LONG-EARED, SHORT-EARED, SNOWY, TAWNY (but the non-British DESERT owl was also accepted in place of one of the five-letter ones). The changed letters were from s(M)atter, pong(A)s/L(A)nge, barne(D)/upsen(D), sno(G), moonl(E)t, forming MADGE, a name for the barn owl.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Answer Explanation [extra letter]
Across
1 BEAT-’EM-UP BE[T] + TEAM * + UP
6 SOLO L in SO[H]O
9 ESSENE SE[E]N in EASE − A(usterity)
10 PONGAS [N]ONG in PAS
11 ANKH ([N]AN + (Smit)H) around K(ing’s)
13 MAS-JOHN A[I]MS * + JOHN
14 ROGET GOR[G]ET *
16 AGA [H]A’ + GAS − S
17 LOW-BORN LO[T] + WORN around B
21 BARNED BRAN * + [L]ED
23 TATAR TA[Y] in RAT <
25 RENAL (N + LA[S]ER) *
26 TREMOR (MORTAR − TAR) after T[I]RE
29 RELATES [N]EURAL * − U + TES
31 MAA MAR[G] with A for R
33 TOSAS TOS[S] + AS
35 SMATTER S(of)[T] + MATTER
36 TOEA T[H]EA around O
37 AUNTLY G[E]NTLY with AU for G
38 DRONED ((Schube)R(t) + [S]ON(g)) in (D + ED)
39 TAYS TAS[T]Y *
40 ELASTANE EALE < around S[A]TAN
Down
1 BEAGLERS BEA[R]ERS around G(o)L(d)
2 ASKEW ASK + V[I]EW − V
3 TEHR H(elsinki) in TER[N]
4 MEAGRE ME[G] + AGRE(e)
5 UPSEND P[O]UND * around ((bas)E (rate)S) <
6 SNOG SAG with NO[W] for A
7 LANGE L + ANG[L]E
8 OSSA [T]OSAS *; ref. 33ac
12 NIOBE [U]NI + OBE
13 MOONLET NO[W] < in (MOLE + T(ransmissions))
15 TUTELAR (LURE T[H]AT) *
16 ALTO A + L[O]TO
18 BRAG GARB[O] <
19 YAMA (deit)Y + [S]AMA
20 FRESCADE F + R + E + C in S[H]ADE
22 ANTA A + N[A]T + A
24 AREDE BAR[K]ED − B + E
26 TROTYL TROT + LY[E] <
27 RESEDA RE[S] + SEDA(n)
28 NASUA NASA around U[P]
30 TRONA ORNAT[E] *
31 MOAT M[A](n) around OAT
32 HATS HA[R]TS
34 STOT S[E]T + TO <
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