SOME SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS 167 
and circles of feathers about the eyes. The Barn Owl has 
a heart-shaped face-disk, about which the head feathers 
cluster, making the bird look like a funny old lady in a 
cap. This is the Owl that is usually described in poetry — 
the Church Tower Owl, the Monkey-faced Owl, ete. 
“While you look at this bird listen to some of the things 
that the Wise Men say of it. 
“The Barn Owl, strictly speaking, makes no nest. If 
occupying a natural cavity of a tree, the eggs are placed 
on the rubbish that may have accumulated at the bottom; 
if in a bank, they are laid on the bare ground and among 
the pellets of fur and small bones ejected by the parents. 
Frequently, quite a lot of such material is found in their 
burrows, the eggs lying on, and among, the refuse. In- 
cubation usually commences with the first egg laid, and 
lasts about three weeks. The eggs are almost invariably 
found in different stages of development, and downy 
young may be found in the same nest with fresh eggs. 
Both sexes assist in incubation. One of the best methods 
of studying the food habits of Owls is to gather the pellets 
which they disgorge. These consist of the undigested 
refuse of their food, hair, bones, feathers, etc. Sometimes 
enormous quantities of this refuse are found in the nesting- 
place of the Barn Owl, one recorded instance being two or 
three cubic feet. When the tired farmer is buried deep 
in slumber, and nature is repairing the waste of wearied 
muscles, this night-flying bird commences its beneficial 
work, which ceases only at the rising of the sun. All that 
has been written regarding the food of the Barn Owl 
shows it to be of inestimable value to agriculture. Major 
Bendire says: ‘Looked at from an economic standpoint, 
