The Zoologist— October, 1869. 1883 



alleged infrequency, have taken particular pains to verify the fact. I 

 have been familiar with both species from boyhood, and have roamed 

 through our forest at all times of the evening, and it was always the 

 tawny owl which we designated as the ' screeoh owl,' while the well- 

 known ' hoo-hoo-hoo-hooo' was almost invariably uttered by the 

 white owl. I have watched both in various situations, and have often 

 been startled in the woods by the unexpected sliriek of the brown owl, 

 while by blowing into my closed hand I have imitated a hoot with such 

 exactness as to cause the white owl to approach me very closely. A pair 

 of the latter frequented a small field opposite to my house in the 

 village ; and on moonlight niglits I have repeatedly and distinctly 

 watched them while uttering their hoot, even within a few yards of the 

 house. The result of my own careful and repeated observations may 

 be thus summed up — that the white owl hoots chiefly, but sometimes, 

 though very seldom, screams ; while the tawny owl screeches, and 

 rarely, if ever, hoots."^ — p. 43. 



Each species of Shrike nesis near Lee. — Writing of shrikes Mr. Ster- 

 land refers to Rennie in these words : — " Renuie relates, in his ' Archi- 

 tecture of Birds,' that a friend of his expressing his doubts," as to 

 shrikes impaling insects, " he undertook for his own satisfaction, as 

 well as his friend's, to endeavour to ascertain the fact, and he soon 

 found within five miles of Lee half a dozen nests of each species." 



The Black Redsiart builds in quickset hedges by Ihe side of the 

 road near Ollerfon. — " Those of my readers who possess the spirit of 

 a naturalist, can easily imagine the pleasure which arises from a first 

 acquaintance with a rare species which they have only read of or seen 

 in a museum. Such will sympathize with me in my delight and sur- 

 prise when I first met with the black redstart {S. tithys), and found 

 it not only a visitor but actually breeding with us : my first acquaint- 

 ance with it was the discovery, on May 17th, 1854, of a nest in a 

 thorn hedge by the side of the road leading from Ollerton to Edwin- 

 stowe. It was placed about four feet and a half from the ground, and 

 was constructed of dry bents, intermingled with a little moss, and 

 lined with hair. When I found it, it contained four eggs ; had it re- 

 mained undisturbed, I have no doubt they would have been increased 

 to the usual number of six, as the female was on the nest : as it was, 

 I appropriated them as a valuable addition to my collection. This, 

 however, was not a solitary instance, for two years later, on May 13th, 

 1856, another nest was taken from the same hedge, near the place 

 from which I had taken the previous one: it contained one egg, 



