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E. G. B. Meade-Waldo—The Cry of Oivls



and to give the name “ Polly ” to a male Parrot, as is frequently done,

struck me as silly.


I don’t know about association of ideas, but it is marvellous to note

the appropriate character of many remarks made by Parrots; how and

when picked up by the birds is a marvel.



THE CRY OF OWLS


By E. G. B. Meade-Waldo


The voices of the various species of owls have no connexion what¬

ever with taking of prey. All Owls hunt alone, and complete silence

is the essence of their success. This is most admirably provided for

by nature. When an Owl has caught something and is bringing it to

the nest, it will utter the particular call that means it is coming

with food, so that the female may come and take that food for

distribution.


The various cries are connected principally with finding mates ;

communicating with their mate ; calling the young ; warning the

young ; rapture of breeding, the same as the song of any other bird,

such as the Blackbird, Robin, Lapwing, Curlew, for the song has the

same meaning in such widely different genera.


The Wood Owls— Strix= Syrnium ( auctorum )—of which our Tawny

Owl is an example, have, perhaps, as fine a vocabulary as any species.

The clear, bell-like hoot of the male may be heard in all directions,

but no two hoot exactly alike. Gilbert White draws attention to this

in his letter of August 1, 1771. It is easy to learn to distinguish the

voice of each Owl in one’s particular neighbourhood, and the voice

can be heard distinctly in favourable weather at the distance of over

a mile. Both sexes hoot: the male is clear and generally deep-toned,

the female mostly with effort and a much higher pitch, also far less

frequently. Both sexes utter the short sharp cry rendered by your

correspondent as “ Tih-vac —the female frequently, the male very

rarely. This cry is the adult development of the nestling cry for food,

rendered by the late Professor Newton by the word “ Kee-wick

This cry, according to the way in which it is uttered, has many meanings.

If low and anxiously in the breeding season it means that the young



