THE BARN OWL 141 



However, neither with the barn owl nor with man 

 has the species-maker had his own way. Ornithologists 

 recognise but one barn owl. This bird, which is fre- 

 quently called the screech owl, is delightfully easy to 

 describe. Everybody knows an owl when he sees one ; 

 but stay, I forgot the German Professor, mentioned by 

 Mr. Bosworth Smith, who held up in triumph the owl 

 which he had shot, saying : " Zee, I have shot von 

 schnipe mit einem face Push cat." Let me therefore 

 say it is easy enough for the average man to recognise 

 an owl, but it is quite another matter when it comes 

 to "spotting" the species to which an individual happens 

 to belong. As a rule the family likeness is so strong 

 as to overshadow specific differences. The barn owl, 

 however, differs from all others in that it has a long, 

 thin face. Take any common or garden owl, and you 

 will observe that it has a round, plum-pudding-like head. 

 Place that owl before one of those mirrors which make 

 everything look long and thin, and you will see in the 

 glass a very fair representation of the barn owl. The 

 face of this owl, when it is awake, is heart-shaped ; 

 when the bird is asleep it is as long as that of a junior 

 Madras Civil Servant as he looks over the Civil List. 

 Whether awake or asleep, the bird has an uncanny, 

 half-human look. It is innocent of the "ears" or 

 " horns " which form so conspicuous a feature of some 

 owls. In passing, I may say that those horn-like 

 tufts of feathers have no connection with the well- 

 developed auditory organ of the owl. 



The barn owl's face is white, as is its lower plumage, 

 hence it is popularly known in England as the white 



