THE TINY OWL'S FAVOURITE FOOD. 29 
Their flight—short, quick, and jerking, similar 
to that of the sparrowhawk—is quite unlike 
the muffled noiseless flap of the night-owl, as it 
sails along over marsh and meadow in pur- 
suit of mice, lizards, or any benighted rodent 
that has incautiously strayed from its place of 
safety. The food of this little owl is entirely 
insectivorous, its favourite morsel a fat grass- 
hopper or field-cricket: not that it by any means 
refuses or objects to breakfast on an early riser, 
be it beetle or butterfly, that, like the proverbial 
worm, is so devoid of prudence as to permit the 
‘early bird’ to gather it. 
When in pursuit of food, the owls perch on a 
small branch near the ground, sit bolt upright in 
an indolent drowsy manner, until their quick 
eye detects an insect moving on the plain; then 
they pounce suddenly upon it, hold it down 
with their small but powerful claws, and with 
their sharp beaks tear the captive to pieces. 
The hard wing-covers and thighs, if a cricket, 
or the wing-shields if a beetle, are rejected, only 
the soft abdominal parts being eaten. Hunger 
satiated, they return to their tree, and, cud- 
dling lovingly together, sit and doze away their 
time, protected from the blazing rays of the 
midday sun by the foliage of the sturdy oak. 
