Mr, J. Blackwairs Ornithulugical Notes. 1G7 



Possessing a voice susceptible of considerable modulation, the 

 calls of the tawny owl arc, perhaps, more varied than they are 

 generally sup})osed to be ; the cry termed hooting, by which it ia 

 most familiarly known, may be heard to the distance of a mile 

 and a half or even two miles under very favourable circumstances, 

 and is attended by a peculiarity deserving of notice. In the first 

 instance a plain hoot is ejaculated, which is soon followed by a 

 tremulous one, and in the interval between the two a low abrupt 

 note occurs, which immediately precedes the latter; such is uni- 

 formly the order of succession when nothing unusual happens to 

 interrupt it. 



Some years ago a pair of barn owls reared their young in the 

 deserted nest of a magpie, built in a spruce fii* growing in a wood 

 at Blackwall, the family estate, in Derbyshire. 



The Pied Flycatcher, Muscicapa luduosa. 



In my 'Researches in Zoology,' p. 166, I have succinctly no- 

 ticed the fact that the pied flycatcher breeds in Gwydir woods, 

 near Llanrw'st. From more extended observations subsequently 

 made in the same district, I may now add, that this interesting 

 species is to be seen every summer sparingly dispersed throughout 

 the entire extent of the valley of the Conway. 



For a long series of years a paii- of pied flycatchers had incu- 

 bated their eggs and nurtured their young in security in a small 

 aperture close by the portico to the principal entrance of my 

 father's residence, Hendre House, Denbighshire, undisturbed, 

 apparently, by the frequent passing and repassing of its inmates. 

 The lively eflFect of the well-defined and strongly-contrasted black 

 and white plumage of the male, his short but pleasant song, and 

 the confiding habits of both sexes rendered them objects of great 

 interest to all the members of the family, w ho did not allow them 

 to be molested on any pretext whatever. Unfortunately, on the 

 18th of June 1843, a sw'arm of bees discovered the aperture, 

 which then contained a brood of nestlings nearly fledged, and by 

 hurrying in and out of it and flying about the entrance in large 

 numbers, seemed determined to dispossess the rightful owners. 

 AVlienever the parent birds attempted to approach the spot for 

 the purpose of feeding their yoimg, they were instantly attacked 

 and repelled by the excited bees, from which they took refuge 

 among the branches of an oak growing near, and there mani- 

 fested their anxiety by notes and actions expressive of extreme 

 uneasiness. After having been severely stung, the nesthngs 

 fluttered to the mouth of the aperture and descended to the 

 ground, where they all perished, their bodies being much 

 swollen. 



Towards the close of April 1844, the same pair of birds re- 



