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SOME NOTES ON THE NESTING OF THE TAWNY 
OWL (SYRNIUM ALUCO). 
By J. Sreente Exnuiotr. 
May 10th.—8 p.m.: A Tawny Owl hooting freely during the 
daylight in a small plantation at the back of my house which 
adjoins the Wyre Forest. 
11th.—7.30 p.m.: Three young, about a fortnight old, found 
inside a hollow apple-tree in my orchard; the tree some thirty 
yards distant from the plantation whence I watched the Owl 
hooting last night. The female was in the hole with the young, 
and as she refused to leave by either of the two entrances, I was 
able to place marking-rings on both her and her young. One 
pellet only, containing the remains of a rat and that quite 
recently ejected, was in the nesting-hole, and from its size 
ejected by the adult bird. No trace of any food in the nest. 
8.15 p.m.: The male flew out of the plantation to one of the 
orchard trees, but did not hoot. I watched the nest until 
9.20 p.m., when it was too dark to make further observation 
from a distance, so I visited the nest again to make sure that 
the female was still there. At 10.85 p.m., whilst standing on a 
short ladder to feel into the nest, the entrance of which is some 
eight feet from the ground, and the hollow eighteen inches deep, 
I was struck a severe blow on the back of the neck by the male 
bird; being taken unawares (although I have experienced a 
similar attack before when climbing up a tree to replace a young 
one that had fallen from the nesting-hole) I jumped to the 
ground and pulled my coat over my head just in time to ward 
off a second attack. Lighting a candle prevented my being 
further molested, and I was then able to satisfy myself that the 
hen bird was still with the young. 
12th.—10.30 a.m.: No remains of any food or pellets in the 
nesting-hole. The removal of pellets from their nesting quarters 
