170



In praise of Owls.



and, except that they have speckled heads, they also resemble him in

plumage. So far they are silent, so I do not know what their call

is like.


A few general remarks may well bring this long article to an

end. People invariably put this question when they see the Owls :

“ How do you get food for them, and isn’t it very expensive ? ” As

many rabbits as I require, usually from four to six every week,

according as other things come in, can be obtained in the season

from the local game-dealer. When wild rabbits are ‘‘off ” the green¬

grocer provides tame ones as I require them, and the village boys

who keep rabbits are only too pleased to sell me their surplus

families; the market price for these is one penny per week up to

twelve weeks old. Drowned kittens and ferreted or trapped rats

cost a penny a piece, and mice and sparrows (other birds are re¬

fused) fetch one halfpenny each. We live on the outskirts of the

village and the school children do a brisk trade in these “ small deer.”

A certain old gardener, whose leaf heap abuts on the Forest, brings

me quantities of “ grub worms,” i.e. cockchafer and stag beetle larvae.

During May and fern harvest, enough mice are often brought in to

feed all the Owls for a couple of days, and Bank Holidays can

generally be relied on to produce a string of rats. These last,

while making a good change of food for the larger Owls, are not

suitable for the Scops and Pigmies, and I have lately contracted for

a weekly supply of sparrows to feed these small Owls.


The aviaries are very simple structures, boarded sides and

roofs, the latter protected from the wet by corrugated, iron ; the

fronts are made of wire netting. The small Owls’ places are wired

underneath as well for fear of rats. Inside, a stump or two and

some rough perches are all that is necessary, with a barrel or box in

a dark corner. All the floors are thickly strewn with coarse road

grit. People who are fortunate enough to own a rabbit-warren or

some shooting and a couple of sparrow traps, could keep Owls prac¬

tically for nothing when once the buildings have been put up. The

difficulty more often is to find a suitable position, for Owls need

plenty of room if they are to be kept in health. My indulgent

parent has allowed an ideal position .facing south, under large

deciduous trees. Here, during summer, the trees provide the



