32 OUR RESIDENT BIRDS 



Food. Insects, slugs, snails, and earthworms. Soft 

 fruits in season. In winter seeds, berries, and grain. 



Nest. February or March onwards. Two or three 

 broods. 



Site. In forks of trees, in centre of thick bushes, non- 

 deciduous trees often favoured, among ivy on wall or 

 tree, in pile of faggots, &c. 



Materials. Twigs, dry grass, roots, and moss. In- 

 ternally neatly plastered, like a small bowl, with mud, 

 cow dung, and decaying wood fibres. 



Eggs. Four to six. Greenish blue, spotted with deep 

 brown and black ; spottings variable ; sometimes 

 unspotted. 



WHITE OR BARN OWL (Strix flammea). 



Generally distributed throughout England, Wales, 

 and Ireland, but rare in north of Scotland. 



Haunts. Ruins, church-towers, barns, &c. 



Plumage. Upper parts tawny yellow, speckled with 

 grey, white and blackish. Face (heart-shaped) and 

 under parts white. Bill white. Legs covered with 

 white hair-like feathers. Length 14 in. Like all Owls, 

 it is grotesque and comical in appearance Female 

 larger and darker above. Young covered with white 

 down ; at a later stage they are similar to, though rather 

 darker than, the adults. 



Language A loud weird shriek, resembling " keck." 

 The young make a snoring sound, and snap their beaks. 



Habits. The large eye is always a sign of a nocturnal 

 bird, and this Owl is strictly so, sleeping away the day in 

 the umbrageous shelter of some dark place, and sallying 

 forth on noiseless wing at sundown to prey on small 

 mammals, &c. Like other Owls, it casts up the indi- 

 gestible portions of its food in pellets. Flight buoyant, 

 noiseless and rapid. It is a most useful bird, and should 

 be protected and not persecuted. 



