130 THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
Little Owl.
Much discussion has taken place as to the character of this
(comparatively) new-comer to this country, whether it is or is not
guilty of destroying young game-birds, and numbers of the pel-
lets which it throws up have been collected and examined with a
view to determining this point.
Dr. W. E. Collinge48 carried out an exhaustive investigation
of 267 pellets of this bird, and of the contents of 194 stomachs,
and gives a list showing the great variety of its food. The in-
cluded remains were identified as under:—
Annelids. Hylesinus fraxini
Various earthworms Hepialus lupulinus
Wood-lice. Hybernia defoliaria
Oniscus asellus Cheimatobia brumata
Porcellio scaber Mamestra brassicae
Myriopod. Agrotis segetum
Polydesmus, sp. Agrotis exclamationis
Insects. Triphaena pronuba
Earwig Tortrix viridana
Unidentified larvae Tipula oleracea
Carabus violaceus Tipula paludosa
Harpalus, sp. Pachyrhina maculosa
Pterostichus madidus Nematus, sp.
Pterostichus, sp. Amphibian.
Ocypus olens Frog
Philonthus, sp. Birds.
Silpha opaca House-sparrow
Aphodius fimetarius Starling
Aphodius, sp. Blackbird
Geotrupes stercorarius Missel Thrush
Rhizotrogus solstitialis Chaffinch
Melolontha vulgaris Greenfinch
Phyllopertha horticola Skylark
Elater, sp. Wood Pigeon
Athous niger Pheasant
Athous, sp. Mammals.
Agriotes sputator Short-tailed Field Vole
Agriotes obscurus Bank Vole
Agriotes lineatus Brown Rat
Apion, sp. House Mouse
Otiorhynchus picipes Long-tailed Field Mouse
Otiorhynchus tenebricosus Common Shrew
Otiorhynchus sulcatus Mole
Sitones, sp. Also a little vegetable matter, such
Ceuthorhynchus, sp as grass, leaf fragments, and
Hylobius abietis seeds of weeds
Scolytus, sp.
48 Journ. of the Ministry of Agriculture, March 1922, p. 1133.