BARN OWL 

 WHITE OWL, SCREECH OWL 



Strix flammea 



Arabic, Boma buda 



Plumage of upper-parts a tawny yellow, mottled, speckled, 

 and pencilled with delicate grey, black and white ; face white, 

 as are the under-parts ; individuals vary in being lighter or 

 darker; buflish-white on chest, feet pinkish, beak yellowish. 

 Entire length, 13*5 inches. 



Either of the two last English names are perhaps 

 in this case more suitable than the first, as barns 

 in Egypt are scarce, whilst this owl is common, 

 and is met with in temples and tombs fairly 

 frequently. 



In the past it must always have been a common 

 bird, as it is one of the few quite easily identified 

 birds used in hieroglyphics (in spite of which, to 

 my astonishment, in a recent work on Egypt this 

 owl is called the Horned Owl). 



The Barn Owl has practically a world-wide range, 

 being found not only in Europe but Africa, Asia, 

 Australia, and America, and though examples from 

 certain localities do show some variation in plumage, 

 it is still always unmistakably the Barn Owl. It 



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