Owls do eat birds, and, as I have just stated, so they do, 

 but if he allows his young hand-reared game-birds to be 

 out of their coops at the time that Owls are abroad in 

 search of food, surely the blame for losing them attaches 

 justly to him and not to the tempted Owl ; I need 

 hardly say that wild-bred game-birds, whilst small enough 

 to be attacked by the Barn-Owl, are carefully stowed 

 away under their mother's wings at the time when the 

 " bird of night " is on the quest of prey. I have 

 examined hundreds of the pellets cast up by this species 

 in and under their nesting-places, and never discovered 

 either bones or feathers of any game-bird, the castings 

 consisting mainly of the fur and bones of small mam- 

 malia, with feathers and skulls of seed-eating birds, and 

 occasionally a few bones and scales of small fishes. For 

 many years past I have done my utmost to encourage 

 and protect Owls on my own property, and to urge upon 

 my neighbours to do the same, and I am glad to say 

 that at this time of writing (April 1890) I have authentic 

 information of no less than eleven Owls' nests with their 

 full complement of eggs within a radius of three miles 

 from our home. 



The Barn-Owl generally begins to lay early in April, 

 and, I think, begins to sit as soon as one or two eggs 

 are laid, though the full complement of eggs is seldom 

 less than six or seven : I am told that there are nine in 

 one of the nests to which I have just alluded. Young 

 Barn-Owls in all stages from newly-hatched down-clad 

 infancy to full feathering may be found in one and the 

 same nest at the same time, and there is good reason to 

 believe that the juniors arc hatched out by the warmth 



