34 Baby Birds at Home 



parts, marked with whitish oval spots, and 

 greyish white underneath, streaked with 

 brown. The female is only some eight-and-a 

 half inches in length, and her mate even some- 

 what smaller. 



Mice, small birds, moths, grasshoppers, 

 beetles, worms, and all kinds of insects are 

 greedily eaten by this bird. 



Holes in old trees, rocks, and the roofs of 

 houses are used for breeding purposes. The 

 eggs number from four to six, are oval in 

 shape, and pure white. 



The Little Owl breeds close to London 

 and is a great hater of cats, crying out in 

 angry chattering notes whenever it espies one 

 of these animals. 



Although mobbed by blackbirds, chaf- 

 finches, and other feathered creatures, who 

 have reason to dislike it, this wee owl feeds its 

 young ones, all day long, in the most uncon- 

 cerned manner. It darts like a flash into 

 the nesting hole with the food, and if there 

 is anything in the neighbourhood calculated 

 to arouse its suspicions, peeps out cautiously 

 to see if the coast is clear before leaving 

 home again. The young are clothed in soft, 

 white down, and look very quaint. 



