226 THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



done by this and other Owls far outweighs the loss of a 

 stray pheasant chick or two. 



In Italy and many other countries, the Brown Owl is 

 used as a decoy by rascally bird-catchers, who fasten him 

 to a perch in an open space, surrounded by bushes on 

 which bird-lime has been thickly smeared. The wild birds, 

 always ready to mob an Owl, come flying round him, and 

 soon find themselves stuck fast to the bushes. 



A happier use was made of one by a naturalist in 

 America, who used his pet to attract birds of all sorts 

 through curiosity. " Taking him in a basket to some 

 woods, I displayed him to the robins, pigeons, woodpeckers, 

 vireos, and warblers which chanced to be at hand. ... A 

 full audience gathered at once. Armed with a field-glass, 

 I had the satisfaction of studying at short range the 

 whole bird population of the neighbourhood." 



Owls are not only good parents to their little fluffy 

 nestlings ; they are also very faithful and devoted to their 

 mates. Here is one illustration out of many that might 

 be given. Mr. Bosworth Smith relates it from his own 

 experience. It is a sad little story. 



" I was tapping with my climbing-stick a certain elm- 

 tree in a field, expecting to see a jackdaw hastily scuttle 

 out of its hiding-place. Instead of that a Brown Owl 

 slowly poked its solemn-looking head out of the hole, and 

 remained there looking down upon nie with its big 

 mournful dreamy eyes. 



" I climbed the tree ; it did not stir an inch. I lifted it 

 gently out. Owls are always thin, not much else than 

 feathers ; but this one, from its weight, seemed to be 

 feathers and nothing else at all. Its eyes slowly glazed ; 

 it turned over on its side, and died in my hand. 



" I blew its flufiy feathers apart to see if I could 



