102 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



ancient tree. As night approaches, the Tawny Owl becomes 

 more active, and its note is often heard " hoo-hoo, hoo- 

 hoo-hoo," a wailing cry, which resounds to a considerable dis- 

 tance, and is certainly not one of the least interesting sounds 

 of a still summer night. 



The food of the Tawny Owl consists of small Rodents and 

 insectivorous Mammals which stir forth in the dark, and it will 

 also eat frogs and fish, and occasionally small birds, while its 

 occasional onslaughts on young game-birds and rabbits are not 

 to be gainsaid. 



Nest. In defence of its nest this Owl is sometimes very bold, 

 and will swoop down and attack the intruder. The nesting- 

 place is very varied, and although generally to be found in a 

 hollow tree or an old ivy-covered ruin, or even an outhouse, the 

 bird will sometimes select an old nest of some other bird, such 

 as a Rook, a Magpie, or a Sparrow-Hawk, while its nesting in 

 rabbit-burrows has also been chronicled, to say nothing of such 

 curious sites as a disused dog-kennel, as related by Mr. A. W. 

 Johnson in Mr. Seebohm's work on British Birds. The same 

 gentleman also states that he has known the eggs to be laid on 

 the bare ground, " somewhat concealed by the thick foliage of 

 the lower branches of a fir." 



Eggs. Three or four in number ; white, smooth, and rather 

 glossy. Axis, 175-1-95 inch; diam., 1-5-1-6. 



THE DOWNY OWLETS. GENUS NYCTALA. 



Nyctala, Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1271. 



Type, N. tengmalmi (Gm.). 



The species of the genus Nyctala are diminutive represen- 

 tatives of the Wood-Owls, but they differ from all the species 

 of the genus Syrnium in their small size, and in the curious 

 conformation of the ear-conches, which are different on either 

 side of the head, as has been pointed out by Professor Collett, 

 of Christiania. 



This may have something to do with the sense of hearing in 

 the genus Nyctala, but nothing is known on this point. Apart 

 from the small size of the birds, the thick feathering of the 



