50 



TAWNY OWL. 



BEOWN OWL. 



PLATE XXIV. FIG. II. 



Ulula stridula, SELBT. 



Strix stridula, LLNN^US. 



" aluco, LATHAM. 



Syrnium aluco, JENYNS. TEMMINCK. 



THE nidification of this bird commences in March. 



The nest, if it deserves the name, is formed of a few soft feathers, 

 a few straws, or a little moss, sometimes merely of the decayed wood 

 in the hollow of the tree in which it is placed. One has been observed 

 so low down that a person could see into it from the ground. 

 Occasionally it is built in rocks, sometimes, it is said, in barns and 

 the like buildings, or even in the deserted nests of other birds, such 

 as Buzzards, Crows, and Magpies. The young are hatched in April. 

 They continue to perch among the branches of the trees in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the nest before finally taking their leave of it, and are 

 fed during the interval by the parent birds. 



The eggs are white, and from two or three to four or five in number. 

 The first is sat on as soon as laid, and the young are hatched in 

 about three weeks. They are blind for some days, and their red 

 eyelids look as if inflamed. 



