GO BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. ix. 



I first saw the nest on May 1st ; it then contained 

 four eggs and one newly-liatched young, and one of the 

 eggs was chipping. Close to the nest were the remains 

 of a Blackbird and a short-tailed field-vole. The breast 

 and liver of the former had been devoured, ^^■hile the 

 liver and minute bits of flesh were all that had been 

 plucked from the vole. This was at 10 a.m. I put up 

 my little tent about twenty feet from the nest and 

 went away. 



On May 2nd another Owlet was hatched. Both were 

 blind and scantily clothed with doMn, which was sparsely 

 distributed along the feather tracts, being much thicker 

 on the wings. When the latter were closed the Owlet 

 looked like a ball of white fluff, but when it fluttered 

 its wings feebly in search of shelter, using them to 

 balance its general top-heaviness, bare patches of pink 

 skin were visible. The head Avas well covered, and 

 two pointed tufts of down clearly defined the position 

 of the " horns " even at that early stage. In a few 

 days the Owlet assumed a greyish tinge owing to the 

 sprouting of the feathers. That day I moved my tent 

 a little nearer the nest. 



On May 4th two more eggs m ere chipping and on the 

 5th a third bird was hatched, but one egg had disappeared. 

 Some days later I threw out the fifth, which was bad. 

 At the end of seven days the first 0\\ let hatched Avas just 

 twice the size of the third. 



The old bird sat very close during the first week and 

 allowed me to stand near and watch her indefinitely. 

 On May 3rd I made my first exposures. The rustling 

 caused by putting up the camera frightened her away 

 and during her absence the young uttered a feeble 

 " cheep." When leaving the nest she made no sound, 

 but silently floated over the low bushes like some giant 

 moth. She then circled overhead for a few moments 

 and flew to a tall tree, where her mate joined her. 

 Neither of the adult birds made any pretence at defending 

 their young. I'ogether they A\atched and A\aited, 



