BIRDS parents, and the egg of the cuckoo has been found in Suffolk in the nests of the song- thrush, blackbird, nightingale, whitethroat, blackcap, willow-wren, yellow wagtail, tree- pipit, red-backed shrike, spotted flycatcher, chafhnch, bullfinch and reed-bunting, making twenty-two species in all, while doubtless other nests have been chosen which have not been recorded or discovered. It is very rare to find more than one cuckoo's egg in a nest, but In May, 1902, a meadow-pipit's nest was taken near Diss, containing three eggs of the owner and two of the cuckoo, the two cuckoos' eggs being quite unlike each other. The cuckoo's egg has been found in a nest with no other egg, and with from one to six eggs of the foster-parent. Though the old birds take their departure in July, a nestling has been seen in August, and the young birds sometimes remain till late in September. The song from which the cuckoo derives its name is familiar to every one, but it has another note believed to be peculiar to the hen, which resembles the spluttering sound produced by pouring water from a bottle. The taking of young cuckoos from the nest with the idea of rearing them is not to be encouraged, as they are troublesome to feed, uninteresting in their ways, and usually die in a few weeks. Mr. Hele tried his luck with several, but never succeeded, and where so skilful and patient a naturalist failed others are not likely to succeed. 107. White or Barn-Owl. Strix flammea, Linn. Locally, White Owl. As previously mentioned the West Suffolk County Council has issued orders for the pro- tection of all species of owls throughout the year, and if owners and occupiers of land would not only strictly forbid their keepers to kill these birds, but also make it under- stood that they wished to see and hear owls about their place, these wholesale destroyers of rats and mice would have a fair chance of doing their work. All owls cast up the fur and bones of their prey in pellets, and these can be easily analyzed by putting a few in a basin and pouring warm water over them, when the bones of various small rodents will be seen. A farmer whose knowledge of birds enabled him to speak from experience once said that 'any one who kills an owl ought to get six months,' and the barn-owl is certainly one of the most useful members of a highly respectable county family. It is a resident breeding in old trees, barns and church towers, but migrants arrive in autumn. These * Scandinavian barn-owls ' are usually darker in colour than the resident birds, and I a remarkably good specimen, with the entire breast of a warm fawn colour, was obtained near Lowestoft in February, 1898, which is now in the Tostock rectory collection. 108. Long-eared Owl. Asia otus (Linn.) Locally, Horned Owl. A resident, far from common, but breeding every year. It frequents fir plantations, and generally uses an old squirrel's nest on which to lay its eggs, though the nest of a crow or other bird is sometimes chosen. 109. Short - eared Owl. Asia accipitrinus (Pallas) Locally, Woodcock Owl or Sedge Owl. This winter migrant derives its local names from its arrival on the east coast in October, when the woodcocks come, and from its being often aroused from sedge or rough grass. Short- eared owls vary a good deal in plumage, and any one seeing a small pale specimen side by side with a large dark one might easily imagine them to belong to different species. Like the woodcock, the short-eared owl occasionally breeds, and a nest found at Tuddenham (west Suffolk) in 1882 is recorded in the Zoologist for that year. The nest, such as it is, is invariably on or near the ground, and the white eggs cannot be distinguished from those of the long-eared owl. A beautiful photograph of a nest containing seven eggs is given in Kearton's Rarer British Birds. 110. Tawny Owl. Syrnium aluco {)^ n.) Locally, Brovim Owl. This handsome owl always makes its pres- ence in a locality known by its loud hooting cry, which on a clear frosty night can be heard at some distance, and possesses a great charm for bird lovers. It is a resident, breed- ing in hollow trees, and often has a full clutch of eggs before the end of March. When the young are hatched it becomes bold and even aggressive, and the following incident recorded shortly after its occurrence in the Zoologist of 1890 by the present writer may be of suffi- cient interest to justify its quotation here : ' A few days ago I had a novel and somewhat unpleasant experience of the way in which the tawny owl resents an approach to its nest. About three weeks ago I found in an old dead elm a nest containing three young and two eggs, which we much hoped would not be disturbed, as till last year this bird was not known to breed here. One bright moonlight night I was standing close to the trunk of the tree, watching for the return of the birds with food for their young. Presently one of the parents perched on a tree a few yards away^ 193 25
