THE WHITE OWL. 313 



and barns. The " feathered cat," as this bird has happily been termed, 



is a terrible foe to mice, especially to the common field-mouse, great 



numbers of which are killed daily by a single pair of Owls when they 



are bringing up their young family. In the evening dusk, when the 



mice begin to stir abroad in search of a mole, the Owl starts in search 



of the mi(,.9, and with noiseless flight 



quarters the ground in a sportsmanlike 



and systematic manner, watching with 



its great round eyes every movement 



of a grass-blade, and catching with its 



sensitive ears every sound that issues 



from behind. Never a field-mouse can 



come within ken of the bird's eye, or 



make the least rustling among the leaves 



within hearing of the Owl's ear, that is n. ^ -d.^ r\'^^''^%c, • n \ 



^ , ^ ^ , ^ , T rr,, 1 T^HE Barn Owl [Strix flammea). 



not detected and captured. Ihe claws 



are the instruments by which the Owl seizes its victim, and it does not 



employ the beak until it desires to devour the prey. 



This bird is easily tamed when taken young, and is a very amusing 

 pet. If properly treated, and fed with appropriate diet, it will live for 

 a considerable time without requiring very close attendance. Even if 

 it be set at liberty, and its wings permitted to reach their full growth, 

 it will voluntarily remain with its owner, whom it recognizes with evi- 

 dent pleasure, evincing its dislike of strangers by a sharp hiss and an 

 impatient snap of the bill. 



The nest of this species is placed either in a hollow tree or in a crevice 

 of some old building, where it deposits its white, rough-surfaced eggs 

 upon a soft layer of dried " castings." These nests have a most ill-con- 

 ditioned and penetrating odor, which taints the hand which is intro- 

 duced, and cannot be removed without considerable care and several 

 lavations. The young are curious little puffs of white down, and the 

 Barn Owl is so prolific that it has been kno>vn to be sitting on one brood 

 of eggs while it is feeding the young of a previous hatching. 



As may be supposed from its popular title of White Owl, this species 

 is very light in its coloring. The general color of this bird is buff of 

 different tints, with gray, white, and black variegations. The head 

 and neck are light bufl^, speckled slightly with black and white spots, 

 and the back and wings are of a deeper buff*, spotted with gray, black, 

 and white. The tail is also buff", with several broad bars of gray. The 

 facial disc is nearly white, becoming rusty brown toward the eye, and 

 a deeper brown round the edge. 



The under surface of the male bird is beautifully white, the claws 

 are brown, the beak nearly white, and the eyes blue-black. The sexes 

 are very similar in their coloring, but the females and young males 

 27 



