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NATURAL HISTORY OF SUTTON PARK. 
The Black Tern .—A pair of these birds has the last two 
years been known to breed in one of the marshes, but at 
present I have been unable to discover the whereabouts of 
their nest. 
They arrive here about the end of April or beginning of 
May. A single specimen was shot on one of the pools in the 
summer of 1882. 
Long-Eared, Owl .—Each year since my residence at Sutton 
I have been accustomed to find the nest of this bird. 
Its situation is usually selected about the end of February 
or beginning of March, and about a week later the eggs, from 
four to six in number, are laid, and ten or twelve days 
afterwards the birds commence sitting. This bird never 
builds a nest of its own, but appropriates some disused nest of 
a crow, sparrow hawk, or magpie, entwining among the sticks 
a little dried grass, and on this placing a mass of feathers 
which the old bird plucks from its own breast. 
The young are full fledged towards the end of April, and 
in May and June may be seen on moonlight nights in com¬ 
pany with their parents scouring the woods in search of 
prey. They very seldom show themselves in the open, 
though I have seen them on several occasions. Their food 
consists principally of small birds, mice, and shrews, judging 
from the quantity of pellets found in their haunts. 
During the day, the long-eared owl is very sluggish, and 
may be approached within a very short distance, but it is 
seldom seen in the day time, except on rare occasions, as it 
effectually hides itself in the thickest parts of the woods, and 
bears such a close resemblance to the trunks of trees in 
colour. 
When disturbed off its nest, it almost invariably drops 
down immediately into the bushes, and very seldom flies far 
away, except on an exceptionally dull day. 
I have never heard this species of owl utter a call. 
The Kestrel .—It is rather singular that this bird in North 
Warwickshire, and especially in the neighbourhood of Sutton, 
should be of less frequent occurrence than the Sparrow Hawk, 
which is usually the opposite in other parts of the country. 
Where twenty of the latter are seen, there is not one of the 
former. Can any of your readers explain this ? 
The Stone-chat I believe is only a summer visitor to these 
parts, arriving about the 1st March, and departing again in 
November. It would be interesting to know in what localities 
it stays throughout the winter. Probably some of your 
correspondents on the South Coast will kindly inform us. 
