COMMON SCREECH-OWL. 395 



lark, which it no doubt had caught when the bird was 

 reposing among the grass. Mr Selby says it swallows 

 its prey " whole, and without any attempt to tear it in 

 pieces with its claws." If this be true, the Peterhead 

 owl must have had a marvellous gullet. Most persons 

 who have described this bird, and among others Mon- 

 tagu, state that it preys on shrews ; but I had been dis- 

 posed to doubt this alleged fact for some time, never 

 having found in its stomach the head of an animal of 

 that genus, although I had observed those of different 

 species of small glires. The owl mentioned above as 

 having been presented to me by Mr Wilson, satisfied 

 me as to Montagu's accuracy, for in a great mass of 

 hair and bones contained in its stomach I found along 

 with two skulls of Arvicola agrestis, four of a species 

 of shrew. Mr Jenyns, on what authority I know not, 

 says it " rejects the shrew." Some authors allege that 

 it breaks the bones of its prey before swallowing it, 

 but this is not probable, for one seldom finds broken 

 bones in the pellets, which are curiously formed in the 

 stomach, the sharp teeth and small bones, which might 

 be supposed to be extremely apt to injure the soft and 

 delicate inner coat of that organ, being wrapt up in a 

 dense layer of hair. Like other owls, it is also said to 

 prey on lepidopterous insects and beetles. 



While flying, it now and then utters a harsh scream, 

 and when perched emits a hissing noise. When ap- 

 proached in its retreat, it also hisses, snaps its bill, 

 throws its body forward, and erects its feathers ; and 

 if wounded so as to be unable to fly, uses the same 

 action. 



