﻿NOTES 
  AND 
  QUERIES. 
  385 
  

  

  wefc 
  days 
  from 
  Aug. 
  9th 
  onwards. 
  They 
  appeared 
  to 
  be 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  

   troubled 
  for 
  food, 
  and 
  the 
  foster-birds 
  were 
  kept 
  busy 
  supplying 
  them. 
  

   In 
  one 
  case 
  I 
  had 
  some 
  idea 
  that 
  two 
  were 
  depending 
  on 
  one 
  pair 
  of 
  

   foster-birds, 
  but 
  I 
  scarcely 
  think 
  this 
  could 
  be 
  so, 
  though 
  there 
  were 
  

   three 
  all 
  beside 
  each 
  other, 
  one 
  being 
  younger, 
  or 
  at 
  least 
  not 
  so 
  well 
  

   grown 
  as 
  the 
  other 
  two 
  ; 
  and 
  this 
  youngster 
  had 
  more 
  whitish 
  yellow 
  

   on 
  the 
  breast 
  than 
  usual. 
  They 
  were 
  numerous 
  when 
  I 
  left 
  for 
  the 
  

   British 
  Association 
  at 
  Cambridge 
  on 
  Aug. 
  16th, 
  but 
  were 
  away 
  by 
  the 
  

   80th, 
  when 
  I 
  returned 
  home, 
  though 
  one 
  at 
  least 
  had 
  only 
  gone 
  a 
  day 
  

   or 
  two 
  before, 
  as 
  it 
  remained 
  for 
  a 
  considerable 
  time 
  among 
  the 
  

   surroundings 
  of 
  the 
  garden 
  and 
  neighbourhood. 
  The 
  Twites 
  were 
  

   again 
  in 
  all 
  cases 
  foster-parents. 
  — 
  W. 
  Wilson 
  (Alford, 
  Aberdeen). 
  

  

  The 
  Prey 
  of 
  the 
  Long-eared 
  Owl. 
  — 
  As 
  two 
  contributors 
  to 
  the 
  July 
  

   issue 
  of 
  ' 
  The 
  Zoologist 
  ' 
  [ante, 
  pp. 
  259 
  and 
  265) 
  give 
  evidence 
  of 
  this 
  

   species 
  preying 
  upon 
  other 
  birds, 
  I 
  think, 
  in 
  justice 
  to 
  Asio 
  otus, 
  I 
  

   must 
  give 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  my 
  examination 
  of 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  pellets 
  cast 
  up 
  

   by 
  this 
  Owl, 
  which 
  is 
  common 
  in 
  this 
  district. 
  I 
  have 
  boiled 
  down 
  a 
  

   large 
  number 
  of 
  pellets 
  containing 
  remains 
  of 
  forty-four 
  Mice, 
  thirty 
  

   Voles, 
  and 
  twenty 
  insectivores. 
  The 
  remains 
  of 
  two 
  Finches, 
  appa- 
  

   rently 
  a 
  Sparrow 
  and 
  a 
  Greenfinch, 
  are 
  the 
  only 
  evidence 
  I 
  have 
  of 
  birds 
  

   being 
  taken. 
  I 
  have 
  also 
  examined 
  scores 
  of 
  these 
  Owls' 
  nests, 
  but 
  

   have 
  never 
  found 
  anything 
  but 
  Mice 
  and 
  Voles 
  in 
  the 
  larder. 
  — 
  W. 
  

   Gyxgell 
  (Scarborough). 
  

  

  Short-eared 
  Owl 
  breeding 
  near 
  Scarborough. 
  — 
  On 
  June 
  30th 
  last 
  

   I 
  had 
  two 
  young 
  Short-eared 
  Owls 
  (Asio 
  accipitrinus) 
  with 
  down 
  still 
  

   attached 
  to 
  their 
  feathers, 
  and 
  about 
  six 
  weeks 
  old, 
  brought 
  to 
  me 
  by 
  

   a 
  farmer, 
  who 
  said 
  he 
  shot 
  them 
  on 
  the 
  moor, 
  a 
  few 
  miles 
  from 
  Scar- 
  

   borough. 
  I 
  think 
  this 
  is 
  the 
  first 
  known 
  occurrence 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  

   breeding 
  in 
  this 
  locality. 
  Have 
  your 
  readers 
  heard 
  of 
  it 
  breeding 
  before 
  

   in 
  Yorkshire 
  ? 
  I 
  have 
  one 
  of 
  them 
  preserved 
  in 
  my 
  possession 
  at 
  the 
  

   present 
  time. 
  Last 
  autumn 
  was 
  quite 
  remarkable 
  for 
  the 
  large 
  num- 
  

   bers 
  arriving 
  in 
  this 
  locality, 
  and 
  one 
  day 
  last 
  April 
  I 
  saw 
  eleven 
  of 
  

   them 
  flying 
  about 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  place. 
  — 
  John 
  Morley 
  (27, 
  King 
  Street, 
  

   Scarborough). 
  

  

  Boldness 
  of 
  the 
  Common 
  Buzzard. 
  — 
  During 
  the 
  past 
  spring 
  two 
  

   correspondents 
  have 
  described 
  to 
  me 
  striking 
  and 
  unusual 
  instances 
  of 
  

   aggression 
  upon 
  the 
  part 
  of 
  this 
  ordinarily 
  inoffensive 
  bird 
  when 
  

   annoyed 
  by 
  intruders 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  its 
  nest. 
  Under 
  such 
  circum- 
  

   stances, 
  as 
  already 
  stated 
  (ants, 
  p. 
  100), 
  the 
  bird 
  usually 
  soars 
  or 
  

   circles 
  overhead, 
  showing 
  its 
  agitation 
  by 
  its 
  more 
  active 
  flight 
  and 
  

  

  