In spite of persecution the Tawny Owl is still fairly common in our own country wherever there are woods or crags suitable for its habitat. In the South of Scotland it is common, as well as in England and Wales. It is strange that it seems to be absent from Ireland. Here, in Ealing, where the present writer lives, its whoo-hoo, or, as Shakespeare has it, _tu-whit_ and _to-who_, are heard regularly in one little spinney at the south-east corner of our suburb; and last summer--1908--a pair took up their abode in a garden, right in amongst the shady roads not very far from the Broadway. The Tawny Owl breeds early; strong-flying young ones may be seen in April. A hollow oak tree or an elm is a favorite nesting site with it. The young are [Illustration: USEFUL. THE WOOD OR TAWNY OWL.] very easy to rear and to tame. The late Lord Lilford, who was perhaps our best authority on owls, stated that he had examined many pellets of the Tawny Owl, and although he more than once found the remains of young rabbits he could not accuse the bird of any serious poaching. Living more in the woods the Brown Owl is less often observed than is the White Owl; also its plumage is darker, and this makes it often less visible, especially in the shade of the trees. When flying, his legs are stretched out behind, “as a balance to his heavy head,” White of Selborne remarked. The young ones, funny little balls of grey down, resemble, some one has said, “a pair of Shetland worsted stockings rolled up, such as might have belonged to Tam o’ Shanter.” And this reminds us of Burns, who, when he bids the birds mourn for him, “Wha lies in clay, Wham we deplore,” sings: “Ye howlets, frae your ivy bow’r, In some old tree or eldritch tow’r, What time the moon wi silent glow’r, Sets up her horn. Wail through the dreary midnight hour Till waukrife morn.” But Shakespeare said of the Wood-Owl: “Tu-whit! tu-whoo, a merry note hile greasy Joan doth keel the pot!” It was in 210 pellets of this species that Dr. Altum found the remains of 6 rats, 42 mice, 296 voles, 33 shrews, 48 moles, 18 birds, and 48 beetles, besides countless numbers of cockchafers.