WINTER'S EVE 201 



over the gate, just above my head and only 

 when he startled me with his cry not long 

 and sobbing as the wood-owl, but sharp and 

 high-pitched did I know that he had gone. 

 A white mistiness in the night, wings beating 

 slower than those of his hooting brother, and 

 the white or barn owl had drifted over the 

 grass, hunting the mice and field vole. 



The barn owl is more common than the 

 wood or brown owl. The former is snow 

 white on its breast and under its wings. 

 The wings themselves, and the back, made 

 it one of our most beautiful birds. They 

 are of an amber-yellow colour, shaded with 

 ash gray, and streaked with small white 

 and brown markings. The pinion feathers 

 and the broad soft feathers of the tail are 

 yellowy-white, barred with light brown, 

 Most remarkable of all is the face, which 

 is heart-shaped, surrounded by a line of 

 gray and yellow featherlets standing out 

 like a ruffle. The eyes are black, a contrast 

 to the pure white of the down that surrounds 



