A HISTORY OF LEICESTERSHIRE 



years ago near Lockington ; the man who stuffed it is 

 alive, but getting old and infirm.' 



89. Cuckoo. Cuculus canorus, Linn. 



A summer migrant, generally distributed and laying 

 its eggs in other birds' nests so close to Leicester as at 

 Aylestone and Knighton. On 6 Aug., 1886, I saw a 

 young cuckoo which had been reared by pied wagtails 

 (Af. lugubris), in the grounds of the Borough Asylum. 

 A young one in a hedge-sparrow's nest, built in a 

 privet-hedge in a garden off the Saffron Lane, was 

 brought to me by C. Johnson on 24 June, 1889. It 

 was savage at first, hissing and ruffling its feathers, and 

 raising itself repeatedly with a swaying motion in the 

 nest, with other threatening gestures. When hungry 

 it made a note like that of the hedge-sparrow, and 

 although at first it would not take food, it soon learned 

 to eat slugs, which had to be forced down its throat. 

 In about two days it became quite tame, and opened 

 its mouth, uttering a little sibilant, pleasing note, and 

 fluttering its wings to be fed. It died, however, in 

 about ten days. On 25 June, 1889, another young 

 one of a more hepatic cast of plumage, and with white 

 frontal feathers, was sent to me by one Thomas Garrett, 

 who found it in a wagtail's nest built in a wagon 

 under a hovel at Knighton. This one was never 

 tame, and was most spiteful, darting out its head like 

 a snake, and pecking savagely at the hand. Some 

 few slugs were forced down its throat, but it refused 

 all, and gradually becoming tame through weakness, 

 died on the fifth day. This bird was a male by 

 dissection. 



Mr. G. Frisby says that he heard the cuckoo on 

 3 April, 1906. Mr. W. J. Horn, writing in 1907, 

 states that in 1905 two young cuckoos spent about a 

 month in the paddock adjoining his house, and it was 

 not until 1 3 September that the last one departed. 

 In the spring of 1906 a cuckoo roosted in a chestnut 

 tree in Mr. Horn's garden, within a few yards of the 

 house. 



90. White or Barn-Owl. Strlx flammea, Linn. 



Locally, Screech-Owl. 



Resident and generally distributed. This bird has 

 more than once visited the portico of the museum at 

 night. In the spring of 1885 I found that it fre- 

 quented Aylestone Church. 



Mr. W. J. Horn writes in 1907 : " It used to nest 

 every year in Market Harborough in an old elm tree, 

 but the lead which was put on to prevent decay also 

 excluded the owls. In ten years I have seen two 

 alive, one dead in a gamekeeper's museum and 

 heard one screech." 



91. Long-eared Owl. Aslo otus (Linn.). 



Locally, Horned Owl. 



Resident, but rarer than the short-eared owl. It 

 was included by Mr. Babington amongst the birds of 

 Charnwood Forest as 'not very common.' Harley 

 noted that it occurred at Gopsall Woods, and that it 

 affected well-wooded tracts, especially where coniferous 

 trees and evergreens prevailed, but was not so frequently 

 met with as the ' Brown ' or ' Ivy ' owl. He wrote : 

 ' The long-eared owl is, of all our nocturnal birds of 

 prey, the most solitary,' and remarked that it did not 

 limit itself to small mammalia, but attacked the young 

 pheasant, and made havoc of the partridge, as he had 

 more than once witnessed. 



The late Dr. Macaulay reported one shot by the 



keeper on the Laughton Hills, 2 May, 1890. Mr. 

 G. Frisby reports it as occurring in the vicinity of 

 Quorn. 



92. Short-eared Owl. Aslo accipttrinus (Pallas). 



Locally, Woodcock-Owl. 



A winter migrant, generally distributed, but not 

 common, and remaining to breed. Mr. Babington 

 (Potter, op. cit. App. p. 66) mentioned it as occur- 

 ring ' in the wilder parts of the moors, and in turnip- 

 fields.' This species, unlike any other owl, is frequently 

 seen in the daytime, often falling to the gun of the 

 sportsman in the autumn, and Harley justly remarked 

 that its flight is ' performed in an awkward, vacillating 

 manner, reeling, as it were, from side to side.' 

 Mr. Ingram wrote : ' Occurs amongst gorse bushes 

 and low shrubs, generally two or three together.' 

 The late Mr. Widdowson, from whom I received 

 several specimens, considered them fairly common 

 near Melton. One procured at Leicester Abbey on 

 20 Sept., 1882, was given to the museum. Mr. 

 Davenport shot one at Ashlands in September, 1882, 

 and the late Dr. Macaulay reported one shot at 

 Smeeton Hills, 15 Nov., 1882. Mr. G. Frisby, 

 writing on 27 Nov., 1905, says: 'This bird was 

 searching for food over the " allotments." I had a good 

 view of it, and soon after it or another one was shot.' 

 He saw one also at the same place 28 Nov. 1906. 



93. Tawny Owl. Syrnlum aluco (Linn.). 



Locally, Brown Owl, Grey Owl, Ivy Owl, Wood 

 Owl. 



Resident, but not very common. I received two 

 nestlings (a male and a female by dissection) taken at 

 Bradgate 15 May, 1885, and an adult pair procured 

 at Newtown Linford on 19 Dec., 1885. The gizzard 

 of the male contained the beak of a sparrow or green- 

 finch, a few feathers and bones, and a quantity of fur 

 of mice, including a lower jaw of the bank-vole. The 

 gizzard of the female contained a little fur and some 

 remains of the bank-vole, a quantity of feathers and 

 two beaks of sparrows. The late Dr. Macaulay reported 

 it as breeding at Kibworth. 



Mr. G. Frisby wrote on 17 July, 1905 : 'This 

 night I spent round Swithland and Quorn Woods, 

 and listened to the tawny or wood owl. Its notes are 

 very loud and clear, resembling, hoo-hoo-hoo, o-o-o, 

 and hi-hi-hi. The other note was much like that 

 the huntsman gives out with his horn.' 



94. Little Owl. Athene noctua (Scopoli). 



A new record for the county and noteworthy not 

 only for its increasing commonness in Britain but for 

 the fact that it has nested in the county. 



Mr. G. Gough established a new record for the 

 county when he shot a little owl near Glooston Wood, 

 on 12 Jan., 1900. 



Mr. W. J. Horn saw one in Market Harborough 

 on 24 Sept., 1901, and another on I April, 1905, at 

 Saddington Reservoir. He had also seen several others 

 in the immediate neighbourhood. 



A female specimen (immature) was shot at Kibworth 

 on 28 July, 1906, by Mr. C. D. Price, who presented 

 it in the flesh to the museum. 



The Rev. Hugh Parry, writing on 7 Nov., 1 906, 

 reports a nest of this owl in a pollard ash tree close to 

 Tugby village, on 4 May, 1906, and on 1 8 May 

 another nest at Loddington by Launde, with four 

 eggs, which were hatched off. 



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