74 
A Visit to Mr. Hamlyn's. 
shouldn't care to meet one in a narrow lane without a gun in my 
hand. Whilst recovering from the shock the brute had given 
me, I felt something pulling at my coat behind, and on turning 
around I found that a fine grey Vulture was trying to investi- 
gate one of my pockets. It was very tame, and, in spite of its 
powerful bill, did not give me the impression of cruelty usually 
associated with these birds. I\Iy first thought was that I had 
found the very thing for one of my big aviaries, as they were a 
very fine pair of birds and in pe 'feet health, and they would be 
something not seen in the country every day. But on second 
thoughts I judged that, as carrion feeders, they might perhaps 
not prove very nice neighbours in an aviary, situated close to 
one's house, so I gave up the idea with some reluctance. One 
has to consider one's better half sometimes, even in birdy 
matters, and I pride myself that I have never kept Storks or 
similar high smelling creatures in my bedroom, as some 
naturalists seem to do; see The Adventures of a Xaturalist's 
Wife in the U^ild World Magazine . The attendant next called 
my attention to another large bird, which he considered to be 
some kind of an Eagle. On examination it proved to be a 
Giant Hornbill — a very fine bird, and one that would certainly 
attract attention in any part of the country. However, I had to 
consider my young ducks and chickens. A bird with a bill the 
size that this one carries woiddn't have much trouljle in 
swallowing the broody hens as well as their yotmg ones, so I 
left i[ for someone without these encumbrances. 
After examining some very fine Stanley Cranes, I sud- 
denly spotted a coui)le of boxes of large Owls. These proved 
to ])e Spotted Eagle-( )wls (Bubo maculosus ) . There were five 
altogether: I picked out what i thought was a true pair, and 
which I have since discovered to be an adult and a last year's 
young one. h^'om their demeanour 1 think that the old one is 
a hen, and the young one a cock, so that I hope one day to get 
them to nest. ( )n their arrival at Westbury I turned them into 
a small well-shaded aviary, and they seemed very glad to get out 
of their close quarters. The young one was especially lively, 
hopping about and patting its mother on the head with its wing 
in nnich the same way as one sees young pigeons do with their 
l)arents when they v.ant to lie fed. It also took a bath, jumping 
