206 BIRDS. 



and fish. There is more white about this little screecher 

 than in most of our owls, and even the bill is almost 

 white, in which it resembles only that of the tawny 

 owl, easily distinguished by the absence of orange from 

 its plumage and the thicker feathers on its feet. 



Like all the owls, this bird perches with two toes 

 on each side of the branch, and not, as in most birds, 

 three before and one behind. This fact is not, however, 

 invariably borne in mind by the taxidermist, w^ho is 

 frequently pleased to edit nature gratuitously. It is a 

 remarkable fact that even in some recent manuals on birds 

 the illustrations deliberately give the taxidermist's version 

 in preference to the true one. The silent flight of the owls 

 has been much written about and not a little exaggerated. 

 Between flying more silently than other birds and making 

 absolutely no noise whatever, there is a gap, though, to 

 the casual rambler in the country, the flight of all birds is 

 practically noiseless. This owl roams about our dwellings, 

 and is especially common in parts of Kent. I well re- 

 member some fifteen or twenty years ago staying in a 

 little cottage opposite the Walmer barracks, where these 

 "screech-owls" would fly in of a night at the open 

 windows. At first they earned a cheap rejoutation as 

 ghosts, until one sultry night a sudden chance swoop with 

 a fishing-rod brought one to book and set the matter at 

 rest. The way in which gardener, farmer, and game- 

 preserver unite in persecuting this owl has been men- 

 tioned, and it is to be doubted whether they would achieve 

 a far difi'erent result were they actually to breed and turn 

 down rats and voles, of which this bird must annually 

 destroy hundreds of bushels. What prompts the small 

 birds of the neighbourhood to turn out in force and mob 

 any belated owl who may not have regained the security 

 of its dark retreat ere the sun is high, it would be difficult 

 to say. The professional bird-catcher is at any rate con- 

 tent to use the blinking bird, dead or alive, as a decoy. 



The nest of this owl, if nest it can be called, is in some 



