50 Bolam: The Natural History of Hornsea Mere. 
BARN Ow1.—A pair or two usually nest about Wassand 
and ‘always have done.’ This year there were at any rate 
two, and probably a third nest, up the road near Sigglesthorne, 
where birds were frequently seen. One brood was fledged 
about Boat-house Wood early in June. The second nest was 
in the Park in an ash tree three hundred or four hundred yards 
from the Hall. Taylor and I disturbed the two old ones from 
this hole in passing on evening of 8th June. Next morning I 
went to look at it, and found it contained a single young one, 
apparently about a week old, one of the adults again leaving 
the hole when I kicked the tree, almost immediately followed 
by a Starling ! 
On climbing the tree I found that the hole extended down- 
wards into the trunk for some distance, and upwards into one 
of the principal limbs. At its bottom was the young Owl, while 
tightly wedged into the upper extremity of the hole was the 
Starling’s nest containing two partly incubated eggs, the 
distance between the two nests being just three feet, both birds 
using the common entrance. The young Starlings were duly 
hatched and reared up to the fully fledged state, but one at 
least of them would then appear to have fallen a victim to the 
Owls, as on 11th July I took the picked and dry skeleton of a 
young Starling from beside the young Owl: of the second no 
trace could be found, but a week previously it had been noticed 
that the young Starlings had left their nest. The size of the 
cavity was such that the Owls could have reached the Starling’s 
nest at any time, and from the situation of the latter it was 
improbable that the young could leave it without falling head- 
long down beside the young Owl ; while once down at the bottom 
of the hole it would require considerable exertion on their part 
to get out of itagain. Ifin these circumstances the Owls departed 
from their usual ‘ non-avivorous’ habits, who could blame them ? 
In the expressive language of Holderness, Taylor described the 
temerity of the Starlings as ‘ fondbrazant.’ 
No other remains of birds, it may be added, were discovered 
in the rejected pellets of the Owls, examined from the nest from 
time to time, nor other traces of an avine diet. On several 
occasions freshly killed mice and voles occurred beside the owlet, 
sometimes partly devoured, and the exuvie chiefly consisted of 
the remains of these. An old White Owl was frequently to 
be seen in the evenings, hunting over the rough and boggy bit 
of ground near Heslop’s reed-bed, which abounded with voles 
and was also a favourite resort of both Kestrels and Brown Owls, 
and it was more than once remarked that when a-White Owl 
chanced to be prowling there when a Brown Owl arrived, the 
former immediately cleared off, as though it recognised that its 
dark cousin claimed to have first fruits, and brooked no poaching 
on his demesne. 
. 
Naturalist, 
