28 WITHIN AN HOUR OF LONDON TOWN. 



dark - eyed barn owl, with his curious elongated, 

 almost heart - shaped face. He is now overhead, 

 and you can hear his hissing scream as he passes 

 into the meadows, where he works the fields like 

 a pointer. Shortly he is joined by his mate. They 

 have not long to hunt for a meal : for, suddenly 

 dropping down, he has a mouse in his claws and 

 his mate has another. Back they go to their young 

 ones that are not quite able to fly, and are looking 

 out for their parents like so many cats, to which 

 indeed they bear a striking resemblance. Their ap- 

 petites are good, but they have not long to wait, for 

 mother and father owl are off and hunting again, 

 almost immediately ; and nearly through the whole 

 night long they thus continue to fulfil their pater- 

 nal duties. 



Only those acquainted with country life would 

 credit the number of different kinds of mice to be 

 met with in the grass fields. The short - tailed, 

 stout-bodied meadow-mouse, called by the country- 

 people the dog-mouse, in size resembling a young 

 rat, the wood-mouse, and the shrew-mouse are all 

 found there. These, together with the barn or 

 house-mouse, are the chief source of food for owls 



