VOL. X.] NOTES. 271 



SPREAD OF THE LITTLE OWL IN .SOUTH OXFORD- 

 SHIRE AND NORTH BERKSHIRE. 



As it is of some importance to record the exact dates on 

 which the Little Owl first made its ajDpearance in this district, 

 the following notes may supplement Mr. Attlee's records 

 given above : In November, 1911, Mr. R. W. Calvert saw a 

 Little Owl by the roadside at Fyfield, between Burford and 

 Stow in south Oxon. In April, 1913, he also flushed one 

 from a hollow oak near Ascot t-under-Wych wood. On July 

 21st, 1914, Mr. F. Menteith Ogilvie saw one in his garden 

 on the Woodstock Road, Oxford, which allowed him to come 

 within ten yards before flying ofl^. Mr. R. W. Calvert informs 

 me that three pairs bred in 1916 near Clanfield in south- 

 west Oxfordshire. Two of these hatched off successfully, 

 and the third nest contained four eggs on April 21st. On 

 July 26th, 1916, Miss Longland saw a Little Owl in the middle 

 of the road at Frilford, about four miles west of Abingdon, 

 Berkshire. This bird like most of the others, was remarkably 

 tame, and allowed her to come within a few yards. All 

 previous records of this species in Berkshire are from the 

 eastern side of the county. p q ^ Jourdain. 



LITTLE OWL BREEDING IN ESSEX. 



In April, 1914, I found two nests of the Little Owl {Athene n. 

 noctua) containing three eggs each in the neighbourhood of 

 Brentwood. Both nests were in the same field and were in 

 small holes in old oak trees. I have frequently observer! 

 Little Owls in other parts of Essex, notably round Epping, 

 but do not know if nests have been reported before from this 

 county. D. H. Meares. 



[The Little Owl has been recorded as breeding in northern 

 Essex by Mi-. J. H. Owen (Vol. VI., p. 63), and by Miss C. J. 

 Gurney (Vol. VIL, p. 85).— Eds.] 



LITTLE OWL IN CHESHIRE. 



On March 3rd, 1917, a Little Owl {Athene n. iioctua) flew out 

 of a thorn hedge in full daylight at Blacon, two miles from 

 Chester, and was shot by Mr. R. Farmer of that city, who 

 presented it to the Grosvenor Museum. The curator, Mr. A. 

 Newstead examined it and found it to be a female in good 

 condition. Its stomach contained the remains of mice or 

 voles, wing-cases of a beetle {Aphodius), besides some quartz 

 and plant roots. I believe this is the first recorded instance 

 of the Little Owl's occurrence in Cheshire since 1902, and 

 may mark its spread from the neighbouring counties of 



