70 British Birds, with their Nests and Eggs. 



roost, to which he invariably returns ; the same Owl has been known to occupy 

 the same perch for many years. The writer had numerous Tawny Owls residing 

 round his house in Wales in a semi-domesticated state ; during the day some of 

 them were frequentl}^ observed roosting on the roof among the chimne}' pots ; 

 the favourite stations of others were well known in their various trees, so that 

 when friends came who wished to see the Owls they could be readily found and 

 exhibited. Occasionally they would be in evidence sunning themselves on bare 

 branches in the early spring, at which season not only would they hoot through- 

 out the day, but also continually made a soft, shivering, mating call. The 

 impudent JaA-s would closelj- imitate them, or else, heading a party of Mistle 

 Thrushes, Chaffinches, and Tits, would mob and tease one of the Owls until the}' 

 compelled him to shift his perch ; this is a common woodland episode. The 

 Tawny Owl nests in March or April, either in a hole in a tree, or in an old 

 Crow's nest ; sometimes in a chimney, or empty dove-cote ; occasionally in a 

 rabbits' earth under ground. The eggs are larger than those of any other 

 English Owl, are white, smooth, glossy, and suboval in shape ; they are from 

 three to five in number, and measure from i'96 to i*68 inch in length, b}' from 

 I '64 to I '43 inch in breadth. The nest needs to be cautiously approached, as 

 the Tawny Owl will valiantl}- defend its abode, and is particularl}' fierce after the 

 Owlets are hatched, when the old birds will sally out to buffet anyone who passes 

 near. One of the entrances to a house belonging to a friend of the writer was 

 closed for a time owing to a pair of Tawny Owls that had their nest in a fine 

 elm by the gate refusing to permit anyone to approach without attack ; and bo3's 

 who have robbed nests of the young have been seriously injured, their eyes 

 scratched and torn out. The nestlings are at first covered with a yellowish grey 

 down, barred with sooty brown. "The young birds," to quote Lord Lilford once 

 more, " are easy to rear, become ver}? tame, and, from their solemnity of 

 expression and the grotesque attitudes which they assume, are among the most 

 satisfactory inmates of an aviary." 



The Tawny Owl is distributed in all the wooded parts of the British Isles, 

 with the exception of Ireland, where it is said not to occur. There are two 

 common forms in w'hich it is met with, a red plumage, and a grey ; the rufous 

 form is the ordinary Red Owl most usually met with ; the grey plumaged birds 

 are more common in the eastern counties of England, where they are not to be 

 regarded as migrants from the Continent, but as residents, as is proved by j-oiing 

 birds in the grey plumage having been taken from the nest. The Tawny Owl 

 is distributed throughout Europe and Western Asia ; the majority of the foreign 

 Owls of this species belong to the grey form. The diet of the Tawnj^ Owl, 



