THE BARN OWL. 159 



So Shakespeare, Henry VI.," Part III., Act. v. sc. 6. : 



" The owl shrieked at thy birth, an evil sign." 



In mythological history the screech-owl was once a man, 

 Ascalphus by name, transformed by Ceres for his misdeeds 

 into an owl, the messenger of approaching grief, a direful 

 omen to mortals. 



If there is light to see, stick your rod in the grass and 

 put your binocular upon the bird as he slowly flies through 

 the meadows. See, although he is called the white owl, 

 and looks very white in the dusk, he is a yellow tawny- 

 colour on the back of the head, altering to a tawny-greyish 

 on the back ; his wings beautifully barred with white spots ; 

 the breast and under-part a light pinkish-white ; the facial 

 and disc feathers round the eyes a silky white ; black eyes ; 

 yellowish-pale beak, and black feet, covered with thick, 

 short hairs. 



We have mentioned the owl's silent flight. This arises 

 from a most beautiful arrangement of the barbules of the 

 wing-feathers (first pointed out by the late Mr. John 

 Quekett), which renders their under-surface so soft as 

 completely to deaden the sound which from the absence 

 of such structure in the wings of other birds, is produced 

 by the percussion with the air in the act of flight. 



The barn-owl has many provincial names : Church-Owl, 

 Hissing - Owl, Roarer, Billy - Wix, 

 Woolert, Hoolet. In the Highlands 

 it is Gaillach-oidhche-gheal) or " the 

 white old woman of the night." 



Some have asserted that the barn- 

 owl hoots occasionally, but this is not 

 the case. Its note is a weird kind 

 of screech, very difficult to describe. 

 Dresser says : " The call of the barn- 

 owl is a loud, harsh, and most weird- 

 sounding shriek ; besides this, it some- HEAD OF THE BARN-OWL. 

 times makes a sound which is scarcely distinguishable from 

 the snore of a man." 



