WHITE OR BARN OWL. 257 



repast." All our records tend to shew that these 

 small mammalia are the principal food of this 

 useful bird, and the mimhers destroyed nightly is 

 very great. 



The nest is constructed at the bottom of the 

 chosen spot of slender sticks, lined with grasses or 

 straws, wool or hair being seldom an ingredient 

 in its composition; the fabric is in general not 

 bulky, and in some instances little more than what 

 covers the surface is made use of. The eggs are 



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rather round in form, and are pure white; the 

 young, soon after being hatched, are covered with 

 a very soft down of a snowy whiteness ; with 

 increasing age, the yellow feathers of the upper 

 parts gradually appear, and by the completion of 

 the plumage, there is little difference from the 

 perfect state of succeeding years. "When intruded 

 on in the nest, they throw themselves back, hissing 

 and snapping at the unwelcome visiter. 



When the White Owl has been roused from his 

 resting place in the day, he flies most unsteadily ; 

 lie is " not awake," as it is often said at the time 

 by ordinary spectators, and it is certain that in a 

 clear day he does not recover or seem at ease in 

 his flight, and, where the ground is tolerably open, 

 may be almost kept up with by running. On 

 such occasions, it is curious to see the crowd of 

 small birds which flock around his flight ; the 

 chaffinch is one of the most prominent aggressors, 



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