74
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
Hawk Wood. On the same day a Chingford resident brought
me the wing of a barn owl which he had found at Fairmead
Bottom. It had apparently been severed from the body with
a knife. The bird had probably been shot and the wing taken
as a trophy and later lost or discarded. Since then I have
neither seen nor heard a barn owl in this neighbourhood.
Tawny Owl. This bird stands out as a universally distri-
buted denizen of the whole of the Epping Forest district. Its
familiar hoot may be heard after dusk almost anywhere and
it is not unusual to see it pass from one tree to another, even in
daylight. At least one pair bred in Gilwell Park each year
from 1921 till 1930 (inclusive). In 1927, a nestling of about
three weeks old was found on the ground and brought to Miss
Edith Page, at the gardener's cottage. She reared it success-
fully and when the grey down had been replaced by the adult
plumage she gave it liberty. For nearly a year it returned once
and often twice daily to get food at the cottage. We often
watched it bathing in puddles in the garden paths. Early in
1928 it was found drowned in a water butt, bearing signs of
having been wounded in a fight with a rival. Till 1929 we used
to notice many food pellets of the Tawny Owl beneath the
trees in the Park. During the last two years there have been
very few of these and we fear that the report may be true that
the owls of the district have a human enemy who is doing his
best to shoot them. It has been obvious to some of the Scouts
as well as to myself that there have been fewer owls during the
last two years.
Little Owl. Though less abundant this year than usual,
it is known that at least one pair bred in the Park. The food
pellets can be found at any time of 3-ear under certain oaks.
Whatever the season, these pellets invariably consist of dor
and other beetles, rats, voles, field mice and shrews. I once
found the fur of a bat in a pellet and once the skull of a green-
finch. Though both pheasants and partridges nest in the Park,
I have never found traces of either bird in the pellets of the
Little Owl, nor have I found the feathers or bones of any singing
bird, except one greenfinch. The Little Owl has a habit, the
meaning of which is a mystery to me. At definite places one
may constantly hear a sound so like the deep and regular
breathing of a human being that at first I thought there was a