9320 Birds. 
forth a shrill, chirping kind of scream, the first sound, except a hiss, 
that I ever heard him utter. It is not always that I can find time to 
shoot a sufficient supply of birds or rabbits, and fresh meat is a rarity 
which can only be procured at certain times of the year: perhaps 
therefore some of my readers will kindly inform me whether I may 
safely offer sea-fish. The man who brought me this owl once kept 
one himself for nearly two years. It was rather closely confined at 
first, but subsequently it was allowed the full run of the cottage, though 
not until the wings had been clipped. It used to sit in some dark 
corner during the day, giving but little notice of its presence, but as 
soon as all was quiet at night it would leave its hiding-place and com- 
mence flapping and tumbling all about the cottage, upsetting every- 
thing which could by any possibility be upset, and tearing to rags 
anything in the shape of clothing which had been incautiously left in 
its way. As is too generally the case in Shetland, the cottage was 
under the same roof with the cow-house and barn, and after the owl 
had ranged through these for a few nights no mice were to be either 
seen or heard, although the place was swarming with them previously. 
Towards morning the bird gradually became quiet, and then resumed 
its state of comparative inactivity until the succeeding evening. It 
was fed upon rabbits and birds, but it never seemed to require drink. 
Ducks and fowls were never safe when the door was open. Sometimes 
a live hooded crow was thrown down to it, and then a fierce encounter 
was sure to follow, but it was seldom of very long duration ; sooner or 
later the head of the crow would be lying in one place and the body 
in another. Once the owl tried to kill a pig about a month old, but 
was detected in time, and upon another occasion it had the audacity 
to pounce upon a full-grown cat; it at once attempted to bite off the 
head, and would probably have succeeded if the owner had not come 
to the rescue, for the cat was almost powerless in its grasp. The owl 
often escaped, and was as often recaptured, until at last, the man 
having grown tired of stumbling over the rough ground in pursuit, 
resolved that next time he would leave it to its fate, and accordingly, 
when it again escaped no exertions were made to recover it. It 
remained among the hills upwards of two months, at the end of which 
time it was caught upon a low wall near the cottage, and brought 
home. But there was no occasion to keep the door closed. The bird 
having probably become aware of the inconvenience of being com- 
pelled to provide its own meals, never again attempted to escape, nor 
could anything induce it to leave the premises. Few pets die a natural 
death, and this unfortunate bird proved no exception to the rule; one_ 
