72 Forest Birds. 
CHAPTER Vit. 
2 Ee WV 
(Strix aluco.) 
HE sun has set, and the moon, just rising above 
the trees, casts dense shadows across our path 
as we are walking along a sombre glade in the 
forest. All nature is hushed, save for the occasional 
drone of a beetle, or flit of a moth, when suddenly, 
from a distant clump of trees, a loud cry sounds 
forth. We crouch down and remain perfectly still; 
then the melancholy notes are repeated, and a little 
further off an answering cry is heard. The sound 
gradually draws nearer, until at length it is loudly 
uttered just over our heads, and looking up into 
the branches above us we catch a glimpse, by the 
light from the moon, of a Tawny Owl gliding 
through the trees. 
