INTRODUCTION. xvii 



Concerning the Owls formerly in the Keep of Arundel 

 Castle_, which I believe were generally supposed to be Eagle 

 Owls, and were mentioned as such by Mr. Knox in O. R. 

 p. 91, as they were for many years a great attraction to 

 visitors, a few Avords may be expected, though they have no 

 claim to be called Sussex birds. I may say that when I saw 

 them many years ago I had no doubt that they were the 

 Virginian species, in which opinion I am confirmed by the 

 following notice in ' The Beauties of England and Wales/ 

 vol xiv. p. 82, by F. Shoberl, where, speaking of the Keep 

 of Arundel Castle, he says : " The Owls w^hich are kept here 

 were a present to the Duke from North America." This 

 was published in 1813. Mr. J. H. Guruey kindly made 

 enquiries for me of the present Duke, who most courteously 

 gave all the information in his power, stating that he 

 believed it to be the fact that the Owls were introduced 

 into the Keep by Charles, the 11th Duke, who died in 1815, 

 and that some were still remaining when he himself came 

 to the title in 18C0, but that during his minority they 

 gradually disappeared from the Castle, though two were 

 remaining in a garden in the town up to the end of 1869. 

 Mr. Mostyn, the Duke's agent, kindly forwarded me a 

 letter from an old man, for many years the custodian of the 

 Owls, who states that they occasionally bred in the Keep, 

 producing but one egg in the season, and hatching it ; but 

 in 1859 one bird laid three eggs, which produced three fine 

 yoimg, which grew to maturity. One of the Owls, which 

 had long been known as " Lord Thurlow," at last laid an egg, 

 which was the subject of considerable amusement. Mr. 

 Gurney had a cutting from the ' West Sussex Gazette ' of 

 1859, stating that one of the Arundel Owls, believed to be 

 the original " Lord Thurlow," had just died, supposed to be 

 about a hundred years old. 



Three were at one time several Decoys in the county : 



h 



