THE BEOWN OR TAWNY OWL. 205 



adding this egg to oar collectious. I am glad to say, 

 however, Mrs. Tawny showed no intention of forsaking, but 

 faithfully continued to sit on the remaining egg, and did 

 not appear to resent being frequently visited. On April 

 13th, just one month from the date on which the first egg 

 was laid, an odd-shaped fluffy ball, representing a tawny 

 owlet, was revealed to the light of the sun, or perhaps more 

 acccurately speaking to that of the moon, for on no occasion 

 when visited by day was the young owl left to itself, but one 

 or other of the old birds was always sheltering it beneath 

 its wings. I never once saw, however, both adult birds on 

 guard at the same time. A very extraordinary, but inde- 

 scribable, creature was this young tawny ; nevertheless, 

 under the constant attention of its watchful parents it soon 

 grew into a recognisable object. Doubtless, being the only 

 mouth to be fed, it came in for an unusually large share. 



On May 17th, when five weeks old, the young bird left its 

 secluded nest. It could not, of course, fly well at first, and 

 even a day or two later it allowed itself to be easily caught 

 with the hand. 



It was at this time one of the most beautiful living 

 objects I ever saw. Its fresh young plumage of all shades 

 of gold, yellow, and brown, and its grave, stately, but not- 

 withstanding somewhat pugnacious, manner, made it 

 exceedingly fascinating. I much wished to keep it as a pet, 

 but knowing the care and time it would require, I 

 preferred to leave it to enjoy the solitude of its native 

 wood. 



Although hollow trees seem the favourite nesting haunt 

 of the brown owl, it has been known to resort to rabbit 

 burrows. Deserted nests of crows and magpies are also 

 sometimes selected ; I have personally known of two 

 instances in which an old magpie's nest was chosen. 



p 



