58 Northern Observations of Inland Birds 



and upon squirrels and rats. I have never found it 

 guilty of acts that are detrimental to the interests of sports- 

 men, nor have any of the keepers in the localities where 

 I have lived. It usually nests in the old nest of a ring 

 dove or in a squirrel's dray, though one pair I knew in 

 upper Wharfedale nested among the fibrous roots that 

 overhung a deep washout running down the centre of a 

 hardwood forest. 



Young owls have many curious notes. One of these 

 notes is made by opening the bill, when a deep cracking 

 ensues, as though the jaw were temporarily dislocated. 

 I have tried hard to discover how this sound is made, 

 but without success. Young ring doves utter the same 

 note of warning. 



I was visiting some friends in Nidderdale when one 

 day it was decided to '' spring clean " an outhouse adjacent 

 to the back door, where a terrier was nursing her puppies 

 which had been given a nest in a soap box. The puppies 

 were perhaps five days old. The box was placed in the 

 yard during the cleaning process, and for a brief period, 

 while the servants were busy, the terrier left her charges. 

 Just at that minute my friend and I were walking across 

 from the stables. It was the close of dusk. Nearing the 

 yard we saw the terrier run back to her puppies, and at 

 the same moment we saw a long-eared owl, doubtless 

 one of the pair that were nesting in the grounds, fly over 

 our heads carrying something strange in its claws. My 

 friend said : ** I do believe that is one of Nell's puppies ! *' 



We hurried up to investigate. There were only three 

 puppies left — previously there had been four ! Of course 

 it was the best that was missing ! 



Therefore in the case of the long-eared owl, as in the 

 case of all predatory birds and beasts, one can make no 

 hard and fast rules. They will lift anything they can carry 

 which is easy to catch and good to eat. The question 



