BIRDS AT NIGHT 203 



wild state ; but they have splendid digestions. 

 When an owl eats a mouse or a bird, it after- 

 wards throws up the bones and the fur or 

 feathers in a quid or pellet, but the morepork 

 digests everything together. Yet it can go 

 for a long time without food, for one at the 

 Zoo once ate only one mouse and one sparrow 

 in ten days ; then I suggested that the bird 

 wanted a change, and that they might 

 try it with fish. The morepork liked them, 

 and started taking his meals again. I do not 

 suppose they often get hold of a fish in the 

 wild state, but it struck me that fish might 

 be a good substitute for some of the gecko- 

 lizards, which are night reptiles, or for frogs ; 

 but the usual food of moreporks in the wild 

 state seems to be large insects. However, 

 birds which eat these are ready to eat any sort 

 of small animals ; I have even seen our common 

 thrush once catch and eat a small fish from 

 a stream. 



Moreporks are close relatives of nightjars, 

 which are found all over the world, one of them 

 being quite a common summer visitor to our 

 own country. This bird, although one does 

 not see it very often, is well known in the 



