28 BIRD LIFE IN WILD WALES 



shooting or in any way injuring these exceedingly 

 useful birds. In Bucks the Brown Owl (one of our 

 special favourites) was exceedingly plentiful — far 

 more so than the Barn Owl — and any night we could 

 hear his soft "halloa" down an avenue of grand 

 horse-chestnuts and elms within a stone's throw of our 

 house. In this avenue we may incidentally add that 

 Goldfinches bred in some numbers ; and we expect 

 they do still, as those parts were little troubled by 

 those pests — bird-catchers. 



Mais rcvenons a nos nioutons — and visit a pair of 

 Wood Owls, which have young in a fine old decaying 

 elm at no great distance from this avenue. It is now 

 the end of April and a perfect evening. The sun 

 has already set in crimson glory ; sheep-bells tinkle 

 distantly on the Chilterns ; the Rookery hard by is 

 in a perfect turmoil (are Rooks ever quiet ?) ; Bats 

 glance through the trees ; a hedgehog waddles forth 

 from his diurnal retreat in quest of worms, beetles 

 and such-like small deer, when we are startled by 

 a clear, loud hoot — almost overhead. Keep quite still ; 

 and, fortune favouring us, we see his or her Owlship 

 seated on a bare branch eyeing intently the hollow 

 which contains the four hungry Owlets. Shortly it 

 glides off. But it or its mate soon returns, bearing 

 (as we can plainly see, for it is now bright moonlight) 

 a rat nearly full-grown in its needle-like talons, which 

 are held, as is the use of all Owls in flight, straight out 

 behind. 



All through the balm}' spring night the great soft- 

 plumed Owls visit their ravenous young, returning 

 with food everv ten or twelve minutes, one after the 



