BRITISH BIRDS. 89 



possession of by a pair of barn owls, when Waterton 

 " threatened to strangle the keeper if ever afterwards 

 he molested either the old birds or the young ones." 



Owls should be as common as rooks ; they should be 

 tempted in every way to live among us, and a reward 

 should be given to every farmer that reported a nest on his 

 ground. 



Owls are lynx-eyed cats with wings, and it has been 

 computed that an owl, when it has young, will bring a 

 mouse to its nest every quarter of an hour from dusk to 

 dawn. 



An examination of pellets from the barn, tawny, and 

 long-eared owls, give, according to Mr. Montagu Sharpe, 

 the following results : — 



Remains Found. 



Rats. Mice. Voles. Shrews. Small Birds. 



3 237 G93 1,590 22 (a) 



6 42 269 33 (c) 18 (d) 



G 35 2 



(a) Nineteen sparrows, a greenfinch, and tw^o swifts. 

 (d) Fifteen small species undetermined, a wagtail, a tree 

 creeper, and a 3'ellow bunting. 



(c) A countless number of cockchafers. 



Owls are frequently attracted to game coverts by the 

 number of rats and mice to be found there, in consequence 

 of the food laid down for the birds. Therefore, from the 

 game preserver's stand-point, the destruction of birds of 

 prey — owls especiall}' — is a short-sighted policy. 



