Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 



147 

 rhere, 



they should be allowed to remain unmolested. 

 accordin()ly, I hope they still abide in safety. 



Occasionally, when riding home in tlie gloaming, I have 

 seen a ghostly form fly over the fields on silent wing, 

 and tlie '" AVhoo-whoo " of the Tawny Owl may be often 

 heard after nightfall. Sometimes I find one resting in the 



]Nest of Wild Duck (^Aitas dosais). 



caA'ity of an ancient oak, up whose trunk 1 have scrambled 

 inside like a chimney-sweep. Some castings taken from the 

 hollow were full of the glittenng wing-cases of beetles. The 

 Tawny Owl breeds here regularly in some numbers, but 

 this particular hole seems to be only used for resting in 

 diu'ing the day, and I have never found more than one 



