6 
NOTES. 
10. Owls— 
a. Barn-owl . Kills more rats and mice than any other bird. 
Occasionally takes small birds ; but they are 
troublesome food, as they have to be plucked 
of the wing feathers before being eaten. 
They should not be encouraged in pigeon- 
houses. 
b. Tawny-owl Does not coniine his attention so much as the 
Barn-owl to rats and mice ; but leads a most 
useful life. 
11. Kook .... The best—and worst of farmers ! An assiduous 
hunter after worms, wireworm, and grubs. 
He is a terror among the cherries. If not 
kept off the pea-fields he will often play 
havoc, ripping off the young slats by hun¬ 
dreds before the peas are swollen ; he attacks 
fresh-sown corn; will nip the stalk of 
ripening corn until the heavy ears fall down; 
or beat down the corn with his wings. 
Sometimes excess of zeal in grub-hunting 
leads him to pull up whole rows of fresh- 
transplanted cabbages, when the flagging 
leaves appear symptomatic of worm at the 
root. But he is the easiest bird to scare in 
England. The old rhyme says :— 
“ God sent tlie man to reap and to sow, 
God sent the little boy to scare away the crow.” 
But now that the little boy has gone to 
school, to sting a single Rook, or fire big 
shot among them from a distance, is often 
enough to keep a field clear of them for 
weeks. Where Kook-shooting prevails, the 
wings and feathers of the young Kooks 
should be kept, and strewn upon any field 
that is suffering from their ravages. For 
all his faults, I consider the Rook one of our 
most useful birds. 
12. Starling . . . Probably eats more earth larvae than any other 
bird; is the worst cherry thief we have ; 
comes in large flocks, not to be deterred by 
shooting. It sometimes attacks young wheat 
when shallow sown on light soil. 
13. Thrush . . . Most excellent, except when fruit is ripe. 
