What did ive do in the great war ?



227



addition to the usual mice pellets, the skin of a mole and a freshly-

killed frog. An instance of their feeding upon frogs is given in

‘ British Birds,’ vol. v, p. 113, but it must be very uncommon.

Neither Altum nor Fernard Lataste include the frog in their lists.

For a Tawny Owl to offer its young a toad (‘Zoologist,’ 1913, p. 231)

is still more remarkable, for the toad is a most unpalatable creature.

On this occasion, besides the young Barn Owls, both the old ones

were present in the elm-tree, which again is not customary when the

young have attained a large size.


Little Owls which had escaped the enemy were seen in 1914 at

Honingham bv Dr. Deacon, near Swaffham by Mr. Buxton, and at

Surlingham. This species, which was first introduced into Norfolk

by the late Earl of Kimberley, would undoubtedly breed in the

country if it were not so persecuted.


The Rev. E. T. Daubeney finds that this Owl is partial to

centipedes, and in the gizzard of one which was unintentionally

trapped at Costessey, Mr. B. B. Riviere discovered only beetles’ wing-

cases. A motion before the County Council to except this species

from the Norfolk schedule of protected birds was not carried, which

shows that it is not altogether without friends among our land-

owners, the majority of whom know that the good it does outbalances

the killing of a few Pheasants. Indeed, an excellent plea in its

defence may be made out by the admirers of this comical little Owl.



WHAT DID WE DO IN THE GREAT WAR?

THE AVICULTURAL SOCIETY AND

NATIONAL SERVICE.


It has well been said that the domain of Nature is, like a net,

everywhere connected : each portion acts and reacts upon all the

others. To take one instance only, the study of two-winged flies

only a few years ago was a neglected science, and the total number

of dipterists but small; to-day the dipterist is a very important

pei’son, since the role of mosquitoes and other two-winged flies has

been recognised in the dissemination of disease.



