The Zoologist — July, 1874. 4067 



suspected the rats: they have ahvajs been numerous in this 

 place,— an artificial mound, about fifty yards long by fifteen wide, 

 running between the house and the Dene, covered with "rock-' 

 work," low-growing bushes, and crowned with laurel and holly; 

 from this little place I have no end of amusement; it is always 

 moving with animal life. In the nesting season I have found the 

 blackbird, song thrush, missel thrush, garden warbler, blackcap, 

 whitethroat, hedge sparrow, robin, longtailed tit, bullfinch, green- 

 finch, chaffinch, wood pigeon ; and this year the sparrow has 

 thought fit to place a bundle of straw and feathers on the top of a 

 rather bare holly ; and a short time since I let a pair of tawny owls 

 from confinement, fully expecting they would go off into the Dene, 

 but they took up their abode in this coveted place, and here they 

 might have assisted me in keeping down the rats by killing the 

 young ones (I have a doubt whether they would tackle a°full. 

 grown one), but they were mobbed from morning till night, the 

 missel thrush being, as usual, the boldest in attacking them', the 

 blackbird the noisiest; and this noise was so incessant and 

 annoying that I was obliged to shut the owls up again. Twenty- 

 six pheasants made this place their winter quarters, all of which I 

 have seen roosting on one tree,— an old Scotch fir; the greater 

 portion of them had been hand-reared at a short distance off. I 

 fed them regularly twice a day with maize; some of them became 

 so bold as to fly upon the window-sill ; the creaking of the window 

 on being opened, or a whistle, would always collect them ; the rats, 

 tils, finches, and even the wary wood pigeons, would put in an 

 appearance, at the same lime taking care to be furthest away from 

 me; they would allow me to throw out corn when within "fifteen 

 yards without flying away ; but if the pheasants were not between 

 them and me, they would be off if I showed my face at the closed 

 window. The pheasants have gradually disappeared since the 

 breeding season commenced. An old cock that has never left the 

 place for six or seven years considers the place should belong to 

 him and his six wives; at present, he is in turn compelled to give 

 way at the approach of a game bantam and his five wives: this 

 liltle fellow is master of the.n all. I have, however, an occasional 

 visit from some other cock pheasants, when they can steal past the 

 old one. Two lame cocks he never quarrels with, but torments 

 them until they fly away, by displaying himself to them, exactly in 

 the same manner as he does to the hens, so that love-making is not 



