Probably from 1827 to 1831, when Darwin was studying at Cambridge University, he joined a student club and had dinner together once a week.

They call themselves the Gourmet Club, or the Glutton Club.

When Darwin's son Francis was writing a biography of his father, he contacted Frederick Watkins, a former member of Darwin who had been impressed by Darwin.

Watkins wrote:.

Our menu was certainly well-selected but the appetite for the odd meat didn't last long & I think the club ended prematurely while struggling to eat an old brown owl, which is indescribable! We tried it

Falcons and herons and other delicacies.

I have already forgotten.

But it gives you an idea of ??the club.

.

Our menu was certainly well-selected but the appetite for the odd meat didn't last long & I think the club ended prematurely while struggling to eat an old brown owl, which is indescribable! We tried it

Falcons and herons and other delicacies.

I have already forgotten.

But it gives you an idea of ??the club.

I've never tried strix aluko silvatica myself - but evidence suggests it's pretty scary.

Granted, this is just one data point; as one commenter suggested, maybe Food Club happened to receive a bad owl. I myself have never tried strix aluko silvatica – but

There’s evidence that it’s downright terrifying.

Granted, this is just one data point; as one commenter said, maybe the food club happened to receive a bad owl. From a quick web search and a few comments, what I can gather is that brown owl chicks get a variety of

Eaten by predators, especially large owls like the eagle owl (Bubo Bubo).

I'm not sure if there are animals that regularly prey on adult brown owls (perhaps someone else on Quora can help?) but we at least have some solid data that owls taste terrible, at least from a human perspective.