BIRDS OF THE NIGHT 213 



December, when the country-side rings with 

 hooting. Go out any quiet evening and you will 

 hear the challenges ringing on all sides. From 

 the dim mysterious woods, from the trees that 

 loom darkly against the sky, comes first one 

 call and then another, echoing to and fro, 

 flung back by hill and dingle, until it seems as 

 if the night is alive with owls. How loud and 

 piercing the hooting seems when other sounds 

 are hushed. Unheard, an owl flies up, perches 

 in the tree overhead. The " Hoo-oo-ooo ! " 

 rings out unexpectedly close at hand, so that 

 even the stoutest nerves are thrilled and 

 startled. " Ker-wick ! ker-wick ! " replies an- 

 other, " Hoo-oo-hoo-oo ! " answers back the first, 

 and so it goes on far into the night, perhaps 

 until dawn comes and sends the excited birds 

 home to roost. 



It is the grave matter of pairing which is the 

 cause of all the trouble and excitement, for the 

 Tawny Owl breeds so early in the year that it 

 has to begin mating, and settling the hunting 

 grounds of the different pairs, well before Christ- 

 mas. It is then that the young birds of the 

 previous season are driven from their parents' 

 territory, when the old birds too have to hold 

 their ground against homeless young couples in 

 search of suitable nesting places. In any given 

 area the number of hollow trees is limited. The 

 best ones are already tenanted, being occupied 

 year after year by apparently the same individuals, 

 but each spring these pairs launch families of 



