LONG-EARED OWL. 239 



A great many of these birds have from time to time 

 been tamed by our young naturalists at Queenwood, 

 and their comical antics by day, and weird notes when 

 they are confined to their cage at night, are very 

 familiar to us. These notes remind us strangely of 

 the mewing or squealing of a kitten, only very much 

 louder ; they are very shrill and penetrating, and can 

 be heard a great way off. The birds seem able to 

 bear the daylight with comparatively little discomfort, 

 and will not blink in the midday brightness. They 

 certainly are by no means blind in the light, as one 

 soon finds to one's cost, if one attempts to tease them. 

 Some few years back a nest of young Long-eared 

 Owls was taken to be reared. They were pretty 

 little things, little round balls covered with soft greyish 

 fluff. They were placed in cages in an old play-shed 

 in the grounds. To procure them sufficient suitable 

 food was not always an easy task for their owners. 

 One morning several dead mice were found lying in a 

 row in front of the cages. The following day there 

 was a similar mysterious supply. This led to a look- 

 out being established ; and it was found that the old 

 birds had discovered the whereabouts of their young. 

 There was an opening in the roof of the shed owing 

 to a slate having slipped, and through this opening 

 they swooped with their prey— a mouse, mole, or 

 young rat. On one occasion as many as twenty-seven 

 small animals were thus supplied for the young birds. 



This bird, in all probability, never builds its own 

 nest, but uses an old one of some Magpie or Crow ; 

 we have most frequently discovered its eggs in an old 

 squirrel's drey. The bird sits so close that it can 

 sometimes nearly be caught on the nest. It is no 

 uncommon thing to find young birds and fresh eggs 



