72 Forest Birds. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE TAWNY OWL, 



(Strix aluco^) 



r I "HE sun lias 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. 



