feathers greyish black, the edges of a lighter shade; tail ash grey, with a broad black stripe near the end, which again is tipped with white; under parts whity brown, the breast being streaked and the belly spotted with brown; thighs and under tail coverts of a pale fawn colour, also streaked; under surface of tail whitish grey, showing slightly marked transverse bands, besides the black terminal bar; legs and toes yellow; claws black. In the female the crown is a rich fawn with dark stripes; upper parts, including the tail, all reddish brown, with bars of bluish black, the tail having the black bar tipped with white, as in the male; the whole under surface paler than in the male, in other respects the same. The young males resemble the females till after their first winter. The kestrel builds in high rocks or old towers, but frequently it takes possession of an old crow's or magpie's nest. It lays four or five eggs one inch seven lines long by one inch three lines, mottled with dark reddish brown on a pale reddish white ground. They are usually hatched about the 1st of May. The illustration represents an adult male.

THE WHITE OR BARN OWL (Strix flammea).

Mr. Waterton has taken this bird under his special protection, and has shown that its food is almost entirely composed of young rats, mice, shrews, small birds, and insects, as well as occasionally fish. That it does occasionally capture game is true enough, but such a misdemeanour is exceptional. Still there is no denying the fact that it is sometimes caught, flagrante delicto; but the services which it renders to the farmer ought to make the game preserver pass these peccadillos over. Like the kestrel, the little harm which it does is compensated for a hundredfold by its good deeds, and the keeper who shoots it, to the annoyance of the farmer, will lose far more than he will gain. The barn owl is common enough in England and Ireland, but it is not so frequently met with in the north. When it does give utterance to any noise, which is but seldom, it screeches rather than hoots, like the tawny owl, but still the note may be called a hoot by some people. When in search of food it skims with noiseless wing the fields around its abode, and

when its nocturnal eye spies a luckless mouse it hovers over it in the most silent manner, with its legs hanging down, and rapidly alights on its prey, which it seizes in its claws and bears away. Should this bird come abroad in the daytime, it is beset by thrushes, blackbirds, swallows, and other small birds, which give it no peace till it retires to some spot out of their sight. The white owl comes out earlier than the brown, and may frequently be seen in the twilight hour hunting for mice. In the old male the length is fourteen inches; the beak is almost white; iris bluish black; face white, the edges being tipped with brown, and having a rusty stain under each eye; crown and nape of neck pale buff, spotted with black and white; upper parts of body darker buff, speckled and mottled with grey, black, and white; tail feathers of a pale buff, with five grey bars; all the under parts snowy white; tarsi covered with white, fanlike feathers, which also extend to the upper surface of the toes; claws brown, the middle one being slightly serrated. The wings are longer than the tail, and the fibres of which their feathers are composed not being all of the same length, the flight is rendered noiseless. The females resemble the males, except on the under surface, which is of a less snowy white, and sometimes even of a pale fawn colour. The nest is built in a barn, old malt-house, church tower, or any old ruin covered with ivy. The female lays from three to seven, or even eight, eggs, of a white colour, one inch six lines long by one inch three lines. It is remarkable for beginning to sit as soon as one egg is laid; so that the young are hatched on consecutive days, and as they grow up are of all sizes.

THE TAWNY OR IVY OWL (Strix stridula).

This bird is still more nocturnal in its habits than the barn owl; but nevertheless it is far more destructive to game, feeding, according to Yarrell, "on leverets, young rabbits, moles, rats, mice, birds, frogs, and insects," as well as "occasionally on fish," like its white congener. Its wings are not so long as those of that bird, nor is its flight so rapid and buoyant, though quite as soft, noiseless, and spectre-like.

It is thus, as remarked by Mr. Colquhoun, "less formed for beating a large extent of country for mice, and must often content itself with promiscuous feeding.' Elsewhere he remarks: "They (the white owls) are evidently more expert mousers than the brown, which may in part account for the latter's destruction among young game. I recollect nearly all the young pigeons in my father's dovecot being devoured by a pair of brown owls." This character, coming from a writer who is evidently prepossessed in favour of owls, and who accuses a keeper of shooting a colony of brown owls as a blind for laziness, is certainly somewhat condemnatory of them, and probably most game preservers will think themselves justified in ordering their destruction, though there is no doubt that, as in the case of the white owl, they are excellent friends to the farmer from destroying mice and rats. The tawny owl is common in all wooded districts where game is not very strictly preserved, and inhabits thick woods, especially where there are evergreens. Its note is a loud and melancholy hoot, seldom heard during the day. The length of the male is fifteen inches, the female being a trifle longer. The former has the beak of a pale-brown colour; iris dark blue; face greyish white, edged with a line of dark brown; upper parts ash grey, mottled with a rich brown in two shades, and having a line of white spots on the edge of the scapulars, wing-coverts and primaries barred with white and brown; tail barred with brown of two shades; under parts of body greyish white, mottled and streaked with brown; under tail-coverts white; legs and toes clothed with short, pale grey hairs; claws pale brown colour, tipped with brown. The females are of a deeper tawny colour; the young males resemble the females till their second moult. These birds build in the ivy covering any old ruin, or in the hole of a tree similarly clothed, or if these are not to be found they take possession of an old magpie's nest, which suits them from being covered in. The eggs, to the number of three or four, are white, one inch ten lines in length by one inch and a half. They are hatched in April or early in May, and the young birds are a long time before they can fly, perching on the boughs near the nest, where they are fed by both their parents.

THE RAVEN (Corvus corax).

The Raven is now becoming rare in this country, being destroyed by the shepherds from its fondness for lamb, and by the keepers on account of its propensity to take the young of all species of game, as well as the eggs of game birds, of which it is particularly fond. It also devours reptiles, insects, carrion of all kinds, and even grain when animal food is not to be obtained. It is chiefly found on high mountain rocks, or on the seacoast, in extensive woodlands, or open plains, where its strong sight and keen powers of scent render it difficult to approach. The length of the male is twenty-four to twenty-six inches; beak black; feathers of the nostrils an inch long; iris brown and grey; plumage black, with a gloss of purple; legs, toes, and claws, black. The female is smaller than the male, and her feathers, like those of young birds, have less brilliancy and lustre. Ravens breed early in the year, beginning to build in February. The nest is placed on the highest tree in the neighbourhood, on the fork of a branch. It is formed of sticks, lined with wool and hair. The eggs are four or five, two inches long by one inch four lines. The ground colour is a pale green, spotted and mottled with olive green and brown. Ravens keep in pairs all the year round.

THE CARRION CROW (Corvus corone).

This bird resembles the raven in all but length, which is about eighteen to nineteen inches. It is also called the Gir Crow and Flesh Crow. Wooded countries are their chief habitat, and here they are constantly on the look-out for dead horses, cows, or sheep, in default of which they destroy weakly lambs, or capture young leverets and rabbits, as well as the young of the winged game. Like the raven also, this bird breeds early, the nest being placed on the forked branches of a tree, and made of the same materials. The eggs are four or five, of a pale bluish green mottled and speckled with ash colour and brown; length, one inch eight lines; breadth, one inch two lines.

THE HOODED, OR ROYSTON CROW (Corvus cornix).

The hooded crow, otherwise called the ash-coloured crow, is even more mischievous to game than the carrion crow. It is very common in the west and north of Scotland, where it breeds; the inroads made upon the species by the incessant attacks of the keepers being made up by fresh migrations from Sweden and Norway, which come over in the autumn. In the south they rarely breed, but make their appearance on the eastern coast with the woodcocks, and are particularly numerous about Royston, whence they are named. Their habits are similar to those of the carrion crow. The length of this crow is twenty inches; beak strong and shiny black, half covered with black feathers; head, cheeks, throat, front of neck, wings, and tail of a brilliant black; nape of the neck, back, rump, and under surface a smoke grey; legs, toes, and claws black. These birds breed early in the year, making their nests in trees and rocks on the sea-coast, composed of sticks, lined with hair or wool. The eggs are four or five in number, the ground of a light green mottled with greenish brown; length one inch ten linesbreadth one inch three lines.

THE JACKDAW (Corvus monedula).

The jackdaw is found all over England wherever there are high buildings for it to nest in. It is not accused of destroying live game, but it has occasionally been known to suck eggs, and hence it is proscribed by the strict school of gamekeepers. Its haunts, however, are so different, and the benefits it confers upon the farmer by its insectivorous appetite are so great, that I cannot help thinking it should be allowed to escape. Of course, if a particular jackdaw is known to be an egg-sucker he must suffer the penalty, but an indiscriminate massacre of these birds is scarcely desirable.

The length of the jackdaw is fourteen inches; beak black and half covered with feathers; iris greyish white; crown black; nape of the neck and shoulders dark grey; rest of the body and wings black; bluish on the wings and rusty below; legs, toes, and claws black. The nest is built of

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