The reason for the astonishing multiplication of the little owl
is much the same as accounts for the survival of the grey squirrel which is defying the official ban : it is mar- vellously adaptable. The barn owl—the best of the bunch from our point of view—grows scarcer because it must have Et hollow tree or a tower, with unwired windows. The tawny owl and the little owl will take to any hollow whether made by a rabbit in the ground or old age in a tree. I have known ferrets to bolt more little owls than rabbits from a burrow. They are adaptable in other ways. They can endure daylight as well as enjoy night ; and so hunt the day-loving as well as night-loving prey. Both tawny and little owl are content with urban or at any rate suburban life, and the tawny at any rate is a much worse enemy to nesting birds. in towns, where no rabbits are, than in the country. Some day Urban District Councils will be called upon to appoint warreners for the regulation of creatures encouraged by the conditions of life in a town. Rats, sparrows, carrion crows and perhaps owls, coot and moorhen would be included. He might be called upon to defend the birds of our parks from the host of cats that now take heavy toll. Even in such details- of natural history the town may upset the natural balance of life. When birds of a sort multiply excessively they find new Etna evil habits. Too many rooks turn carnivorous and too many sparrows destroy flowers, corn and even other birds' nests: The multitudes also breed " rogues who commit crimes quite alien" orat any rate rare in their tribe, as when moorhen puncture the eggs of pheasant and duck, " mostly for wantonness," or so it seems, * * * •*
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