270 



ACCIPITRES.- 



-BIRDS. STKIGID.E. 



owl kind." He adds that, in a nest which he found in 

 Hoy, there " were the remains of a moorfowl, two 

 plovers, besides the feet of several others, and the 

 birds, two in number, ready to fly." The nest is made 

 upon the ground amongst the heath and other plants ; 

 it is a rude habitation, often consisting only of a hole 

 scraped in the ground, upon which the eggs are laid, 

 without even the slightest attempt at a lining. The 

 eggs are usually two or three in number. 



THE BROWJT OWL (Syrnium aluco} Plate 3, fig 9 

 often called the Tawny Owl, which is not an un- 

 common bird in wooded districts in England, is nearly 

 allied to the preceding species, but diifers from them 

 in the total absence of the ear-like tufts upon the head. 

 It measures about fifteen or sixteen inches in length. 

 This owl appears to become rarer towards the north, 

 so that in the Orkneys it is only met with in the sum- 

 mer, and it is less abundant in Scotland generally than 

 in England ; it is common in most parts of the continent 

 of Europe, and also occurs in Asia and the north of 

 Africa. 



In its habits the Brown Owl is strictly nocturnal ; the 

 glare of day dazzles and bewilders it so much as to 

 render it perfectly helpless, and it shows the wisdom 

 which might be expected from the favourite of Minerva, 

 by retreating during the day to the cover of some thick 

 wood, where it reposes amongst the dense foliage. But 

 as the sun sinks below the western horizon, and the 

 shades of evening gradually steal over the open country, 

 the Brown Owl prepares to quit its place of concealment, 

 in order to satisfy an appetite which, as it is somewhat 

 indiscriminate, is perhaps appeased with but little dif- 

 ficulty. Flitting along with noiseless wings the owl 

 finds it easy to surprise the smaller quadrupeds, such as 

 rats, mice, and moles ; but he is not content with these, 

 and boldly seizes on young rabbits and leverets when 

 they come in his way. Small birds, also, constitute a 

 portion of his diet, and to this varied supper he often 

 adds frogs, insects, and even fish. Of the latter, 

 he has been known to capture both those species 

 which often swim near the surface of deep water, and 

 those which, like the bullhead and the loach, dwell 

 amongst the stones, at the bottom of shallow brooks. 

 Mr. M'GiUivray mentions that he found the stomach of 

 one of these birds nearly filled with earthworms, torn 

 into fragments of about half-an-inch in length. With 

 so many resources, the Brown Owl can hardly ever 

 want a good supper. While engaged in its predatory 

 excursions, it emits a loud and doleful hooting cry, re- 

 sembling the syllables hoo-hoo-hoo, and occasionally 

 gives utterance to a shrill scream. 



The Brown Owl does not appear to build a nest of 

 its own, but deposits its eggs, and hatches and brings 

 up its young, either in the hole of a tree, or in the 

 deserted nest of some other bird. The eggs are three 

 or four in number, and pure white ; they are hatched 

 in April. 



THE BAERED OWL (Syrnium nebulosum), one of 

 the commonest owls in the United States of America, 

 is considerably larger than the preceding ; for although 

 the male is only sixteen or seventeen inches in length, 

 the female often measures twenty-two inches, or even 

 two feet. It is of a reddish-brown colour above, 



streaked and spotted with white ; the neck and breast 

 are whitish, with transverse brown bars, and the belly 

 is yellowish, streaked longitudinally with brown. 



The Barred Owl is an inhabitant of the woods and 

 forests of North America, where its loud discordant cry, 

 which is compared by Audubon to the syllables whah- 

 whah-whah-whah-aa, is constantly to be heard as the 

 shades of evening descend upon the earth. According 

 to the author just mentioned, the effect of this cry is 

 very strange and ludicrous, so that he says it would not 

 be surprising if the hearer were to compare it " to the 

 affected bursts of laughter which he may have heard 

 from some of the fashionable members of our own 

 species." Proceeding in this cynical strain, Audubon 

 gives us to understand that the gestures of the bird are 

 as ludicrous as his voice, and says, " The liveliness of 

 his motions, joined to then* oddness, have often made 

 me think that his society would be at least as agreeable 

 as that of many of the buffoons we meet with in the 

 world." It is not, however, at night only that this owl 

 is active ; it flies freely by day, and, when the weather 

 is lowering, its cry is heard all day long. When ap- 

 proached by any intruder on its solitudes, its gestures 

 are very curious. It lowers its head, puifs out the 

 surrounding feathers so as to form a sort of ruff, fixes 

 its eyes in a broad stare upon the intruder, and, whilst 

 watching his movements, moves its head to and fro in 

 so extraordinary a manner as almost to lead one to the 

 belief that that part is dislocated from its body. If the 

 object of its suspicions approach it too closely, it flies 

 off to a short distance, and alights with its back to the 

 person, but immediately turns round with a single jump 

 to recommence its scrutiny. If it be shot at and missed, 

 it flies off to a considerable distance, and, on alighting 

 in a safe place, utters its cry in a pompous tone, which 

 seems to indicate some degree of triumph over the 

 unsuccessful marksman. 



The food of the Barred Owl consists of young rabbits, 

 leverets, mice, and small birds; it is also a great 

 destroyer of chickens, and is said by Audubon to be 

 " especially fond of a kind of frog of a brown colour, 

 very common in the woods of Louisiana." On the 

 other hand the owl itself is made use of as food by man; 

 and it " is very often exposed for sale in the markets 

 of New Orleans. The Creoles make gumbo of it, and 

 pronounce the flesh palatable." The eggs are laid 

 either in the holes of trees upon the dust and rotten wood 

 with which they are covered at the bottom, or in the 

 deserted nest of a crow or hawk ; they vary in number 

 from four to six, and are of almost the same size as a 

 hen's egg, but nearly globular in form. 



THE BAEN OWL (Strix flammea} Plate 4, fig. 11 

 which is also frequently called the White Owl and the 

 Screech Owl, is the commonest species of the whole of 

 this family in the British isles, and is likewise very 

 generally distributed in all parts of the eastern hemi- 

 sphere. The Barn Owl of the United States, which is 

 very similar to the British bird, was formerly regarded 

 as identical with it, but it is now generally admitted to 

 constitute a distinct species. 



The Barn Owl measures from fourteen to fifteen inches 

 in length, the females being usually about an inch 

 longer than the males. Like the preceding species, it 



