340 BRITISH BIRDS. 



overlooked. Mr. Meade- Waldo, for instance, tells us that 

 he has seen a keeper, attracted by the *' mobbing- " of 

 small birds, search for a cat or Owl, and yet take no notice 

 whatever when a Little Owl flew out from a neighbouring- 

 tree. 



Turning now to the second successful introduction of 

 this bird — that at Stonewall Park, near Edenbridge, in 

 Kent — Mr. E. G. B. Meade- Waldo, to whom we are much 

 indebted for information, writes as follows : — " We let 

 out Little Owls first of all about 1874, and between then 

 and 1880 about forty good birds went off. We knew of 

 one nest in 1879. In 1896 and again in 1900 1 'hacked off' 

 about twenty-five. Since then they have been compara- 

 tively abundant all through our district, which is roughly 

 between Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks. I know of 

 generally some forty nests in a radius of some four or 

 five miles. With us their favourite haunts are old orchards 

 and rocks." 



From this centre the birds have spread in every direc- 

 tion, though, from the information at present available, 

 they do not seem to have penetrated to anything like so 

 great a distance as the Lilford birds have done. To the 

 north-west they have crossed the Surrey border, and are 

 now to be found in the Godstone valley and in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Blindley Heath (Meade- Waldo), while west- 

 wards, in the same county, two pairs nested in 1907 on an 

 estate near Horley.* 



To the south the birds have spread into Sussex, where 

 they are now established in the East Grinstead district, 

 and at Forest Row and Withyham, on the borders of 

 Ashdown Forest (Meade-Waldo). 



At the latter place a nest containing an egg and two 

 young birds was found in a hollow tree, 16th June, 1903, 

 by Mr. W. Hosken.t 



Returning to Kent, the main spread appears to have 

 taken place to the north, through Sevenoaks and Wester- 



* A. W. Thornthwaite, in litt. f Field, S, viii., 1903. 



