526 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



states and on the Pacific coast. Its voice is a harsh and rasping screech, 

 and this bird far more deserves the name screech-owl than the bird which 

 actually bears it. Its name barn-owl is not over-appropriate. It some- 

 times inhabits barns, but it does not confine itself to them ; church towers, 

 hollow trees, and even holes in sandy cliffs are occupied by it. 



In the writer's estimation the most attractive of all our owls is the 

 little Arcadian, or saw-whet owl, a very close relative of the figure on the 



Fig. 434. — Left, Tengmalm's saw-whet owl (Nijctala tengmalmi) ; right, pigmy-owl (Glaucidium 



passeritium). 



left of Cut 434. Unfortunately it is not very common with us. Were it 

 more abundant, it would be an advantage, as, like all the other small owls, 

 it devours a large number of mice, moles, insects, and other vermin. 



Our common screech-owl is a far more abundant bird, but its name is 

 a misnomer. It does not screech nearly as much as do many of the other 

 owls. It is strictly nocturnal, feeding, like the saw-whet, on mice and moles. 

 Larger, but with the same curious tufts, are the great horned owls, which, 

 however, take game of a larger size. These, together with the hawk-owls, 

 the short-eared owls, and the barred owls, must be dismissed without 

 further details ; for the description of the habits of each would be but a 



