184 
il/// LHile Oicls. 
long-) during Septoml7er, the break being so neat and clean 
that T am of opinion that the process is a perfectly natural 
one, and would have occurred if they had been living wild. 
After the first few weeks I fed Peeps on freshly killed 
Sparrows and mice, with the heads bf game and poultry when 
these were not obtainable. Stale food he would eat quite as 
readily as fresh (remembe)' tliat the head of a chicken is stale 
long before the body is ready for the table) but it did not 
agree with him, neither did rabbit, of which he was not par- 
ticularly fond. Mealworms and all kinds of insects he loved 
and would eat in any quantity alive or dead. I found him 
most useful in clearing up the sleepy flies wiiich are so often 
found hiliernaling in couiitry houses, and which emerge in the 
evenings to blunder into lamps, afterwards falling on the 
table singed and kicking, in a condition disgusting alike to 
themselves', and to humanity. Peeps had a short way of deal- 
ing with these too ardent seekers of light, which saved me tlie 
trouble of inflicting many unappetising coups cle grace. Moths, 
too were a very favourite quarry and if a large moth appeared 
in the room, Peeps would stoop prettily at it as it settled for a 
moment on wall or ceiling and seldom missed his aim. 
Peeps began to utter the true call -note of his race 
towards the end of December. His voice at first was very odd 
and hoarse, and it was not for some time that he attained the 
deep clear note, which sounds so pretty when heard at a little 
distance. I once, l)y the way, kept a young Brown Owl, 
which used to practise his hoot in the tiniest whisper of a 
voice for several weeks before he gained confidence enough to 
launch out into the far-reac-hing tu-whit, tu-whoo we all know 
so well. 
If I imitated him, Peeps became much interested and 
would fly on to my head or shoulder and nibble my ear or pull 
my hail to find out where the noise came from. It was evi- 
dent that he wanted a mate, biut it was not until summer was 
far advanced, and he had long ceased to call, that I succeeded 
in finding him a companion. The new bird, which was fully 
adult, had only just come over from Holland, when I bought 
her. She was very wild and extremely dirty, her plumage 
and especially her quills being so worn and broken that she 
