XXVI 



IT suggests a sorrowful reflection on our civilisation 

 that, at this time of day, after ornithological 

 writers have been pleading the cause of the 

 owl for many years, it should be necessary to repel 

 objections to that bird and its various species being 

 included in the list of farmers' friends. There was 

 more reason for misunderstanding the true nature of 

 owls in the days when the systematists classed them 

 as a family of the order of Accipitres or Hawks; but 

 now that the opinion has been generally accepted that 

 they form a group of higher rank by themselves, their 

 superficial resemblance to the ill-famed hawks ought 

 to create no prejudice against them, or, at least, against 

 those species which hunt exclusively by night. But a 

 great deal of such prejudice remains to be overcome, 

 especially among game preservers and their keepers; 

 of which abundant evidence may be had by inspecting 

 the collections of ' vermin ' which are nailed up outside 

 the houses of many gamekeepers. There is pretty sure 

 to be an owl or two among the hawks, jays, and weasels. 

 Farmers, it is true, are not generally actively hostile 

 G 



