42 THE BIRDS OF SHERWOOD FOREST. 
In these situations the nest is a mere depression in the 
decayed and crumbling wood at the bottom of the 
cavity, without any lining; and so difficult are they of 
access to any but the owners, that they can only be 
reached by enlarging the aperture with an axe. Only 
once have I known of a different situation being selected, 
and that was an old barn, in which the nest was made 
of straw, that material being ready to hand. 
I believe the white owl is strictly nocturnal in its 
habits ; although I have frequently seen individuals on 
the wing in the daytime, yet it has been clearly 
evident that their flight was not a voluntary one, but 
that their siesta had been accidentally disturbed, for on 
these occasions they flew in a confused and uncertain 
manner, as though “blinded by excess of light,’ and 
were glad to take refuge in the first tree they met with, 
manifesting no inclination to leave it unless compelled. 
These diurnal flights, too, can rarely be made unnoticed, 
for, like the hawks, they are attended by a numerous 
following of small birds, who show their hostility by 
noisy cries of alarm and anger. 
I have spoken of the grotesque appearance of the 
long-eared owl, but that of the white owl is, I think, still 
more so; when in captivity it wears such an air of mock 
gravity and wisdom—as though it was intending to 
burlesque those attributes, now holding its head on one 
side, and now on the other—that I never look at one 
without feeling inclined to burst into a fit of laughter, 
and could fancy it had some difficulty to refrain from 
doing the same. 
I once saw a white owl, which a person had shot and 
only winged, throw itself on its back when he approached, 
and fight most vigorously with its sharp claws, rendering 
