Protection of Wild Life in Yorkshire. 185 
rats and mice. A farmer ought to be proud to have a pair of 
these birds residing on his farmstead. They are indefatigable 
in the pursuit of the small mammals which destroy so much of 
his corn. Next to the Lapwing they are his best friends. 
Unfortunately there is a great amount of ignorance and 
prejudice amongst farmers against them, and they are regularly 
and wantonly destroyed. Mr. Wade mentions that one 
taxidermist in Holderness has had upwards of forty of these 
Owls brought to him this year by farmers. A shameful record. 
There is a tale of one farmer who was brought to task by the 
Vicar of his parish for shooting a pair of Barn Owls. He made 
the excuse that he did not know what they were; he had 
seen the white things flying round his house and he thought 
they were angels, so he brought out the gun and shot them. 
The Long-eared Owl has not so many sins to answer for, 
and as a rule is not so much molested by game-keepers. These 
birds are much attached to certain haunts, and I know a 
number of small plantations on the moorlands which have 
held a pair of these birds ever since I can remember. By the 
way, Long-ears seem to be developing a habit of nesting 
on the ground, like the Short-eared, a number of such nests 
having been reported of late years in the county. 
Short-eared Owls are very scarce, and nest more or less 
irregularly. A plague of mice generally causes an influx of 
these Owls, though how they get the information is a mystery. 
I know one place in the county where they nest pretty regu- 
larly, and where the keepers have had instructions not to 
molest them. They keep to the letter of these instructions 
but not to the spirit, for I heard of one of the keepers saying 
that he took good care to put his foot into any nest he came 
across. The Short-eared Owl differs from our other native 
Owl by always nesting on the ground. 
All the Woodpeckers, the Green, a very large and handsome 
species, the Great Spotted and the Lesser Spotted, are deserving 
of every protection ; they rid the trees of many noxious insects 
and their larvae. Ants they are very fond of, and the Green 
Woodpecker especially, may often be seen raiding an ants nest. 
One fact is certain, they never attack and bore into sound trees. 
The only fault I have to find with our Common Starling is that 
he persecutes the Woodpeckers very greatly, and when a 
nesting hole has been excavated, it is quite a common occurence 
for a pair of Starlings to eject the owner and take possession 
themselves. The ranks of the Great Spotted Woodpecker are 
regularly reinforced by immigrants from the Continent. 
The Lapwing is probably one of the most useful birds 
existing. He has absolutely no bad habits and spends his 
life in the service of the farmer. Despite this, it is only within 
the last few years that much needed protection has been 
1916 June 1. 
