THE WHITE OR BARN OWL 203 



to the four commoner varieties of British owls 

 will suffice, being those with which the reader is 

 more likely to have the opportunity of becoming 

 acquainted. As I have stated, the white or 

 barn owl, the tawny owl, and the long-eared owl 

 are all residents, the short-eared or woodcock owl 

 being migratory. 



There are few localities in England in which 

 the white or barn owl is not more or less 

 common, and a most excellent friend this owl is 

 to the community in general, by reason of its pre- 

 dilection for mice and other similar vermin. This 

 bird is sometimes called the yellow owl, for though 

 when seen in the dusk of a summer's evening its 

 general appearance is white, there is in reality 

 nearly as much yellow as white in its plumage. 

 Wherever there are old buildings or hollow trees 

 this owl is almost sure to take up its abode, always 

 provided that the neighbourhood is one capable of 

 supplying it with suitable food. Colonel Irby, in 

 his list of British birds, remarks : ' This owl, most 

 useful to man, can be preserved and increased by 

 fixing an old cask (about eighteen-gallon size) in 

 a tree. The barrel should be placed on its side, 

 and have a hole cut in the upper part of the head, 

 for the owls to enter. Care must be taken that 

 jackdaws do not take possession.' These owl- 

 casks may frequently be seen thus utilized for the 

 benefit of the owls by those people who are able 

 to appreciate the good they do in killing mice, etc. 

 A piece of a large hollow tree, boarded at the 



