114 BIRDS OF LANCASHIRE. 



ORDEK STEIGES. 



FAMILY STEIGID.E.— GENUS STKIX. 



BAEN- OR WHITE OWL. 



Strix FLAMiJiEA, Linnseus. 



Local Names — HtiUct, Hoivld. 



The Barn-Owl lias been now for a long time recog- 

 nized by the farmer as a valuable ally against the mice 

 which infest his fields and barns, and the care with which 

 it is preserved against intruders when nesting has almost 

 become a superstition. The gamekeeper, however, holds 

 different opinions, and although this species is not 

 harassed like the true birds of prey, its numbers are 

 very much reduced by him ; and owing to greater strict- 

 ness in game-preserving, there is probably not more 

 than one nest now, where twenty years ago a half-dozen 

 might have been found. This Owl is resident through- 

 out the year, and is very generally distributed, being 

 found in limited numbers in all the country districts ; 

 breeding there most commonly in isolated barns. The 

 pellets of undigested fur and bones which it emits, 

 form after a while an increasing heap about the nest, 

 and in some long-frequented recesses these pellets would 

 make a good barrow-load. The eggs are from five to 

 eight in number, and are laid, but not on consecutive 

 days, about the end of April or beginning of May. Mr. J. 

 Murton {Z(m>L, 1870) mentions an instance in which he 



