BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 177 



OWL, BARN. 



Description of Parent Bird.s. — Length about 

 fourteen inches. Beak short, much curved at the 

 point, and pale grey. Irides black. Discs round the 

 eyes white, with the exception of a little patch 

 close to the eyeball on the inner side of each, 

 which is rufous. The feathers, especially on the 

 lower outside of each disc, are tipped with light 

 rusty brown of varying shades. Crown and nape 

 light buff, sprinkled with grey and spotted with 

 dark brown and dirty white. Back, wings, and 

 rump buff, with a lacework of grey, on which are 

 more or less perpendicular lines of spots of dull 

 black and dirty white ; upper surface of tail-quills 

 greyisli-l)utf, crossed by fine darkish- grey bars ; 

 upper breast white, slightly tinged with buff ; 

 lower breast, belly, vent, and under tail-coverts 

 white. Legs covered with white downy feathers, 

 toes with short hairs ; claws brown. 



The female is distinguished by a few dark 

 brown spots on her sides and belly. 



Situation and Locality. — In hollow trees, church 

 tov>"ers, barns, pigeon-cotes, crevices of rocks over- 

 shadowed by ivy, and old ruins ; pretty generally 

 throughout the British Isles, but scarce in the 

 Highlands, Orkneys, and Shetlands. Our illustra- 

 tion represents a hollow tree at Shenley, in Hert- 

 fordshire, in which a pair of Barn Owls have nested 

 for many years. 



Materials. — None, usually, except the pellets 

 of undigested parts of birds and mice ; however, 

 in some situations a few sticks or twigs and other 

 materials, such as straws, wool, and hair in small 

 quantities, are said to be used. 



M 



