The Little Owl.

Otago Witness, Issue 2895, 8 September 1909, Page 74

The Little Owl.

1 While a discussion is taking place in the Dominion as to the habits, etc., of the little owl," a crusade is being waged against it ir* Ewgland. Mr Frank Finn, F.Z.S., in tho Oount-ry-side, has the following notes on the little owl: — Now is the time of year to procure specimens of this quaint little bird, which is certainly the best of our British owls as a pet. Its small size—for it is hardly bigger than a blackbird,—-quaint gestures, and disposition towards diurnal habits are all very much in its favour, and it is hardy in constitution, if not exposed to damp. As many readers are no doubt aware, it is a British bird chiefly by virtue of introduction, for very few specimens seem to have got here on their own account, though it is a very common bird on the Continent, and is the species which the Greeks held snored to Athene, the wise goddess whom the Romans identified with their own deity Minerva. Indeed', in' Athens, Athene's special city, the little owl was so common that •'taking owls to Athens" was the Greek proverbial equivalent to "carrying coals to Newcastle." —The Crimes of the Alien. — The little owl has need to invoke its patroness just now, for a crusade is being waged against it on account of its alleged destructivencss <to small birds, and, of course, the fact of it 6 being a foreigner is not left out of account. It certainly does destroy small birds, even attacking those confined in aviaries, and .recently in the Country-side it has been reported as destroying young chickens on the Continent. It is likely, therefore, to become unpopular with poultry-rearers, gamekeepers, and avi culturists; but, on the other hand, we must remember that some of our commonest small birds really are too numermous locally from the point of view of the market gardener and fruit-grower, who will therefore hail the little owl ac a friend —all the more if they are Nature-lovers and do not like having to kill the email birds themselves. Besides this, the little owl of course feeds largely on rodents and even on worms, snails, etc., so tiiat, on the whole, it is really a most beneficial bird to lia\e in 'the country, tp^ say nothing of the interest awakened by its quaint appearance and amusing gesture*. Anyone who finds this owl mating itself obnoxious in ihis locality should not kill the birds, but capture them alive, as they command a ready sale. It ought to be possible to capture them easily with some t modification of the common sieve-trap, \ baited with a mouse confined in a small open cage. As a town park bird the little owl would be of much interest, and would be of mucr service in keeping down the sparrows; in this way it would probably actually encourage the presence of other small birds, as the sparrows would 'be moro easy victims, and their excessive numbers are probably a check to the increase. of other small birds near human habitations. Certain it is that in India, where a close ally of the European little owl is exceedingly common, sparrows are lees numerous and other small birds more so than in this country; though there the house crow (Corvus splendens) is also a great check on the exuberance of Passer domesticue. —The Little Owl in New Zealand. — The little owl has been very largely imported into New Zealand to keep down tho introduced small birds there; it is curious that this should have been necessary, as there was already an owl of very similar size and habits in the country, the morepork (Ninox Noyae-Zealandiae), and this bird was a most serious enemy to our birds on their first introduction in the colony. Yet the morepork has failed to keep them down or even to keep itself up, and it seems to me that this points clearly to the introduction of some new disea-se or parasite by ihs introduced birds, which more than counterbalanced the advantages to the native owl of the increased 6upply of food they afforded. It certainly seems that most No-v Zealand birds are of very delicate cor.jiirution, foi few of them li\e long m c«inti.:ty over here, the hardiest being the curiouo flightless wekr rails (Ocydromu«), which avo particularly tough birds, and thri\c to p-er-lection ir Europe.