WHITE OWL. 157 



One of these birds after having been tamed for some time, 

 was found to be in the habit for some months, of taking part 

 of its food to a wild one, which overcame its shyness so far 

 as to come near the house, and it would then return to the 

 kitchen and eat the remainder of its portion. Another of them 

 is described by Meyer, as so tame 'that it would enter the 

 door or window of the cottage, as soon as the family sat down 

 to supper, and partake of the meal, either sitting upon 

 the back of a chair, or venturing on the table; and it was 

 sometimes seen for hours before the time, watching anxiously 

 for the entrance of the expected feast. This exhibition was 

 seen regularly every night.' If captured when grown up, it 

 sometimes refuses food, and its liberty in such, indeed in any 

 case, should be given it. In cold weather a number of these 

 birds have been found sitting close together for the purpose 

 of keeping each other warm. The male and female consort 

 together throughout the. year. If aroused from their resting- 

 place during the day, they fly about in a languid, desultory 

 manner, and are chased and teased by chaffinches, tomtits, 

 and other small birds, by whom, indeed, they are sometimes 

 molested in their retreat, as well as by the urchins of the 

 village. 



The flight of this bird, which is generally low, is pre-eminently 

 soft, noiseless, and volatile. It displays considerable agility on 

 the wing, and may be seen in the tranquil summer evening 

 turning backward and forward over a limited extent of beat. 

 It also, its movements being no doubt directed by the presence 

 or absence of food, makes more extended peregrinations. If 

 its domicile be at some distance, it flies regularly at the proper 

 time, which is that of twilight or moonlight, to the same 

 haunt. During the day it conceals itself in hollow trees, rocks, 

 buildings, and evergreens, or some such covert. It is a bird 

 of cultivated taste, preferring even villages and towns them- 

 selves, as well as their neighbourhoods, to the mountains or 

 forests; and frequents buildings, church steeples, crevices and 

 holes in walls, for shelter and a roosting-place ; as also, 

 occasionally, trees in unfrequented places. Montagu says that 

 it sometimes flies by day, particularly in the winter, or when 

 it has young. When at rest it stands in an upright position. 



Moles, rats, and mice are extensively preyed on by the 

 bird before us: as many as fifteen of the latter have been 

 found close to the nest of a single pair, the produce of 

 the forage of one night, or rather part of the produce, for 



