WELL-KNOWN FEATHERED OUTLAWS 29 



other ; and it is with reluctance that we leave the 

 repose and quiet of this woodland scene. This Owl is 

 generally a very early breeder, and often enough we 

 have found fresh eggs during the second week in 

 March, but frequently they are not laid till the first 

 week of April, and they appear never to exceed four 

 in number. From pellets we have examined, we 

 should say that rats, mice, with some of our smaller 

 birds, form their staple food, though in individual 

 pairs we have found little else but the remains of 

 birds and several species of beetles ; and in one nest 

 which we looked into we found the remains of a 

 Wood-pigeon and of several rabbits. 



From personal observation we rather doubt if this 

 species breeds every year. For instance, in the case 

 of the pair mentioned above we noticed that although 

 they frequented the same spot for many years they 

 only bred three times during five seasons ; and to 

 make doubly sure of this we examined every hollow 

 tree in the neighbourhood. Moreover, during the 

 years that we suspected there was no brood, 

 although we often enough watched the old Owls 

 closely, yet we never heard the " kee-wick " of the 

 Owlets or saw them ; and this we may say is by 

 no means an isolated case even within our own 

 experience. 



This bird, too, will not hesitate to drive another 

 species from its nest-hole ; take the following instance : 

 In mid- April of 1891 a pair of Jackdaws laid their 

 eggs and began to incubate in a hollow usually used 

 by a pair of Brown Owls. The Owls were breeding 

 very late that year, and, desiring their old home, not 



