At Home with Wild Nature 



have found well-grown young ones and comparatively 

 fresh eggs hi the same nest. 



The little owl was first introduced into this country 

 by Waterton, the entertaining old Yorkshire naturalist 

 of alligator-riding fame. He started away from Athens 

 on one occasion with a dozen specimens in captivity. 

 Nine of them died on their way to England, and the 

 three survivors turned down close to Wakefield 

 promptly disappeared. Later on other ornithological 

 enthusiasts brought specimens from Greece and Spain 

 and turned them out in the Midlands and South of 

 England, where they have thriven and multiplied, it is 

 to be feared, to the detriment of some of our smaller 

 indigenous feathered friends. 



The little owl is not much larger than a song thrush, 

 and as it is both a day and night flier has ample 

 opportunities for mischief. Some of my naturalist 

 friends aver that the bird is harmless and confines 

 its diet to worms, beetles, and other small creatures. 

 I have studied the species carefully and am sorry to 

 say that I cannot square this verdict with my own 

 experience. May be it is to some extent a matter of 

 district and circumstance. Every honest man bases his 

 opinions in matters of this kind largely upon what he 

 has seen or failed to see. 



It is immaterial to this bird whether it has to lay its 

 four to six white eggs in a hole in some decaying tree- 

 trunk or deep down in a rabbit burrow. Whilst out 

 with my camera one day on the North Downs I came 

 upon a large and apparently well-stocked burrow and 



