152 OWLS. 



coming out of its hole, about ten yards distant. He did not 

 immediately go to take it up, hoping to get another shot ; 

 when in a short time a Barn-Owl pounced down and flew away 

 with it. 



But there is another food of which Owls partake, little 

 guessed at, we suspect, by many namely, fish. The great 

 Snowy Owl above mentioned is known to be a regular fishing- 

 bird. Motionless as the rock on which he sits, he waits 

 patiently till a fish passes, when, with the rapidity of a shot, 

 he seizes it with his claws ; but, although asserted by some 

 naturalists, it had never been quite proved that the common 

 Owls were also fish-catchers ; but the fact has been now con- 

 firmed by the testimony of more than one credible witness. 

 Some years ago, several young Owls had been taken from a 

 nest, and placed in a yew-tree near a gentleman's house. In 

 this situation it was observed that the parent birds repeatedly 

 brought them live fish, such as bull-heads and loaches, which 

 had evidently been taken from a neighbouring brook, in which 

 these species . abounded. At subsequent times, bones of the 

 same fish were frequently found lying under the trees on 

 which the young Owls were observed to perch after they had 

 left the nest, and where the old ones were accustomed to feed 

 them. How they caught them was not then known ; and the 

 report of some labourers, employed to watch a fish-pond in 

 the flower-garden, was not believed. This pond contained 

 several gold and silver fish, which were observed to diminish 

 in number, and it was suspected that the pond had been 

 poached, and other persons were therefore appointed to watch ; 

 when, lo ! the poachers proved to be Owls, which alighted on 

 the edge of the water, and there waited the approach of the 

 fish ; as soon as these came within reach, they were captured 

 and devoured. This testimony has since been corroborated by 

 another witness, who, at twilight in July, happened to be 

 standing on the middle of a bridge, watching an Owl carrying 

 mice to its nest, when suddenly he observed it to drop per- 

 pendicularly into the water. At first he thought it had met 

 with an accident, or had been seized with some sort of fit ; but 



