274 
can secure the fierce little bird: So fiercely does this bird strike, 
that an instance is recorded where a dog was blinded by one 
stroke of a Barn Owl's claws. The Owl was a tame one, and the 
dog—a stranger—went up to inspect the bird. As the dog 
approached the Owl, the bird rolled quietly over on his back, and 
when the dog put his head to the prostrate bird, it struck so 
sharply with its claws that it destroyed both the eyes of the poor 
animal. Whilst its young are helpless, the White Owl watches 
over their safety with great vigilance; and if any living thing, 
such as a man or a dog, should approach too closely to their 
domicile, the Owl will dart fiercely at them, regardless of the 
consequence to itself. The note of this species is a screech, and 
it seldom, if ever, hoots. 
The Tawny or Brown Owl is spread very generally over 
Europe. It is found in Lapland, Scandinavia, Russia, Spain, 
Italy, also in Asia Minor and Japan. It is a common species in 
England, but is more rare in Scotland and the North of England, 
where the Long-eared Owl takes its place. Although rather a 
small bird, being about fifteen inches in length, it is possessed of 
a powerful pounce and audacious spirit. It inhabits woody 
districts. In the winter, when the trees are bare, it secrets itself 
in old buildings, the hoilows of trees, or in evergreens, such as 
firs, hollies or ivy. The colour cf these birds varies very much; 
scarcely two individuals are met with precisely similar in their 
markings. The nest, if it deserves the name, is formed of a few 
soft feathers, a few straws or a little moss. The eggs are white, 
from two to three or five in number. The young are hatched in 
April ; they continue to perch among the branches of the trees 
in the neighbourhood of the nest before taking their final leave 
of it, and are fed during the interval by the parent birds. 
The food of this species is of a varied character, consisting of 
leverets, young rabbits, moles, rats, mice, and other small 
quadrupeds; birds of various kinds, frogs, beetles and other 
insects, worms and fish. Sir W. Jardine notes that fish are 
= ye 
