556 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 
may be easily tamed, and is sometimes kept for the purpose of 
destroying vermin. 
The first of the next group, which have a complete facial disc 
and short tarsi feathered down to the claws, is the Brown or Tawny 
Owl (Surnium aluco). It is commonly called the Wood Owl. Its 
cry, 00-00-00 / which resembles the howling of a wolf, caused the 
Romans to call it U/wa, from uliulare, to howl. 
The Tawny Owl has a large head, and is about fourteen inches in 
height. It inhabits the woods during the summer, where it conceals 
itself in the thickest bushes or the old trunks of trees. It remains 
hidden all day, only going out in the morning and evening to hunt 
small birds and field mice, its favourite prey. In the winter it 
approaches human habitations, and even ventures into barns to catch 
rats and mice; but it retires to its hiding-place as soon as day 
begins to dawn. 
At the beginning of autumn, ‘the education of its young ones 
being completed, this bird takes up its abode in swamps, where it 
can catch frogs and reptiles, to which it is very partial. During 
that season woodcock shooters often flush them. 
Like many individuals of the same family, the Barn Owl will lay 
its eggs in strange nests, such as those of Ravens, Magpies, and 
Buzzards. The young ones are very voracious. Before they are 
strong enough to stand upon their feet they will support themselves 
on their stomachs, and, holding their prey in their claws, tear it to 
pieces with their bills; when they become stronger, they stand on 
one leg, and use the other to convey food to their mouths. A proof 
of the determined courage of these birds is given in the /ie/d, 
wherein a pair attacked a cat that had approached their nest, and 
ultimately destroyed the intruder. 
This owl is easily tamed, when it learns perfectly to know its 
master, and will call to him for food by uttering low cries. It is 
found scattered all over Europe, and frequently in Scotland. 
The Barn Owl, also known by the name of White or Screech Owl 
(Strix flammea, Fig. 257), is found over a great portion of Europe, 
but in France it is rare. There are several varieties of this bird ; 
the one best known in England has the following characteristics :— 
Its plumage is agreeably variegated with yellow, white, grey, and 
brown, and is more pleasing than that of any of the other noctur- 
nals. ‘The eggs, which are elliptical, are generally five in number, 
sometimes six or seven, and are deposited in holes in walls, deserted 
buildings, or hollows in rocks and old trees ; but the bird does not 
take the trouble to line these places with grass or leaves. It is but 
