THE LITTLE OWL. 15 
of day-light, being at once chased by small birds, such as Starlings and Swallows, 
whenever it takes flight, which it does “like a bat, with butterfly-like un- 
certainty,” according to Seebohm. In general it does not come forth to search 
for its food until just before dusk. It is an early breeder, nesting in holes of 
walls, in church towers, in holes of trees and rocks, and Lord Lilford found it in 
Spain nesting in holes in the ground among the roots of old cork and olive 
trees. Its eggs are four or five, sometimes seven, in number, glossy white, and 
oval in shape, measuring from 1.48 to 1°28 inch by from 12 to r'og inch. It is 
a very courageous bird in defence of its nest, sallying out and buffeting any 
passer by. The cry of the old birds when they have young ready to leave the 
nest is said to resemble the alarm cry of the Blackbird; at other times they 
make a short barking hoot. This small species will nest readily in confinement, 
but, in common with other birds in unnatural conditions, its instincts become 
vitiated, and it will devour the young directly they are hatched. With proper 
food and care it will live a great many years in captivity, keeping in beautiful 
plumage; the chief essential being that it must never remain long without fur or 
feather. The Little Owl is very fond of insects, and is often to be noted on the 
ground eating beetles, or earthworms. Some tame ones belonging to the writer 
are extremely fond of cockroaches, of which they will devour great numbers at a 
meal. These small Owls can stow away an extraordinary number of mice; two 
of them one afternoon devoured thirteen, and ten more the next morning, without 
appearing to be in any way distended or inconvenienced. They are so tame and 
familiar with the writer that they seldom indulge in any of their grotesque con- 
tortions when he visits them, but should he be accompanied by a stranger, 
especially by a lady in a hat or bonnet, they at once evince their excitement, 
drawing up their bodies in jerks to their fullest height, and suddenly telescoping 
them again, with queer bowings, to the general entertainment of the spectators. 
Sometimes at night they receive visits from a Tawny Owl that flies out of a 
neighbouring plantation and perches on the roof of the shed in which they are 
kept, when great is the music, as the deep hoots of the stranger are replied to 
by the short barking notes of the small captives. Little Owls in confinement 
never require water to drink or bathe in; indeed, it is said it is fatal to them to 
get wet. They are voracious in their appetites, as may be judged from what 
has been stated above; one day, not having anything else to give his pets the 
writer placed a Magpie, just shot in a plantation, in their box; in a very short 
time the whole of the Magpie had disappeared, with the exception of some of the 
longest feathers. The Little Owl also devours snails, slugs, caterpillars, and 
large insects, and is, in consequence, gladly welcomed as an inmate of gardens; 
