Nesting of (he Eafjle Oivl. 239 



up and prcpai-c a yoaiii,'- raMiit, rNiilciitly I'cccivint,'- iiislnic- 

 liiiii. il prdlilcd so well 1iy its Ics.o:! that li\'r days lain- wlici. 

 slndliiii,- alxMiI the a\ iary, it p;c,kc(i up and ,i;uip<'d down the 

 whoh' hind jr- of a youn^ ral)liit. No wonder it ^vrw ! 



its cjuill^ wrro showin.u' thrcra.uli the thick down which 

 (■n\ (doped it and il I'oljowcil its mother ahout tin; aviary, but 

 dici not lt^•l^•e the yiuiniil until June 10th, when it seranilvleil to 

 the to[) of a big stump ami perched there fur several hours. 

 r.y th'-' lyth it could lly to the liighest perch and was prac- 

 tit-ally itulependent, though its mother still controlled and 

 watched over il, and its lather still carried food to them both. 



rp to this time tlie old birds had shown themselves 

 unexpectedly amiable and made no objection to my entering the 

 aviar\-, liut now the hen became savage. She took to hissing 

 and snapping ami ei'ccting her feathers as soon as she heard me 

 and if I came in while the young one; was visible she Hew 

 at me viciously. The cock never took part in these hostilities, 

 but looked on placidly from his perch, and occasionally hooted 

 to the enrag^ed lady befow as much as to say, "my dear, pray 

 calm yourself." This was fortunate for me, for I should have 

 found it diilicult to tackle both birds had they set on me 

 together. Of course), I did not intrude more than was unavoid- 

 able, but a certain amount of sanitation is necessary especially 

 in hot weather, and it would be a mistake to \let ,^th& hen 

 think that I a,m afraid of her, so I persevered, choosing as far 

 as I could those times when the babe had retired, in order to 

 spare ity mothers feelings as much as possible. These tactics 

 answered pretty well and as the Owlet is now (July 1st) 

 launched into the world and as tall (though not as thick) as 

 its father, and furnished with most formidable claws and beak, 

 its mother though still guarding it, has somewhat relaxed, and I 

 think as she moults will gradually lose her intei'cst in it. She 

 has certainly done her work well. 



These splendid birds carry out a strict system of 

 labour, when nesting, each t-aking its part and keeping to it. 

 The cock digs the " scrape " in a place (usually the same 

 every year) approved if not chosen by the hen. Once she 

 begins to lay she remains on the nest, only coming off for 

 a hurried stretch once in the twenty-four hours, usually alwut 

 dusk; sometimes she indulges in a batli, but whatever she 



