BIRDS 175 



for feathers. This Owl seems peculiarly unfortunate in the 

 treatment it receives from farmers and loafing gunners, but the 

 old type of keeper is its worst enemy. I found no fewer than 

 six Short-eared Owls all gibbeted upon the same tree near 

 Cardunock. 



TAWNY OWL. 



Syrnium aluco (L.). 

 From Roudsea northwards this Owl endeavours to breed 

 commonly in hollow trees, and though a good many are killed 

 by keepers, the birds seem to hold their ground. Instances of 

 the Tawny Owl nesting in the open are rare — indeed, the only 

 one that can be recorded from Lakeland refers to a clutch of 

 eggs which Mr. G. A. Hutchinson took on Lupton Moor in 

 Westmorland, in 1886, having previously disturbed the old 

 birds. These eggs were submitted to Mr. Bidwell. It is well 

 known that this Owl nests in rabbit-holes in sloping banks, and 

 also among rocks ; but that it should attempt to rear its young 

 on an open moor, like the Short-eared Owl, is a little surprising. 

 The young are often reared as pets, and very charming they 

 become, sometimes learning to come to be fed in answer to their 

 owner's whistle. Their diet is naturally varied, including small 

 mammals, fish, and occasionally small birds. Mr. Johnson has 

 known a Tawny Owl carry a Willow Wren to her young. They 

 will feed also on insects, particularly on the so-called ' black 

 beetles,' to which domesticated birds are very partial. Mr. 

 Edward Tandy kept a Tawny Owl which he used to supply with 

 small birds. One day he gave the Owl a Snipe. The Owl, 

 according to custom, nipped off the head and tried to bolt it. 

 But the long bill defeated all his efforts to swallow the bonne 

 louche. The Owl proved equal to the occasion. He threw up 

 the head, broke off the long bill, and bolted the cranium, now 

 freed from its lengthy appendage. 



TENGMALM'S OWL. 



Nyctala tengmalmi (Gmel.). 

 Cumbrian ornithologists have long been aware that an example 

 of this small Owl was obtained in the West of Cumberland in 



