158 WHITE OWL. 



others doubtless must have been devoured before morning. 

 He who destroys an Owl is an encourager of vermin nine 

 mice have been found in the stomach of one, a veritable 

 'nine killer.' It is very interesting to watch it when hunting 

 for such prey stop short suddenly in its buoyant flight, and 

 drop in the most adroit manner to the earth, from which it 

 for the most part speedily re-ascends with its booty in its 

 claw; occasionally, however, it remains on the spot for a 

 considerable time; 'and this,' says Sir William Jardine, 'is 

 always done at the season of incubation for the support of 

 the young.' It also occasionally eats small birds thrushes, 

 larks, buntings, sparrows, and others, as also beetles and 

 other insects. A tame one kept in a large garden, killed a 

 lapwing, its companion. 



Mr. Waterton argues that Owls cannot destroy pigeons, or 

 the pigeons would be afraid of them as they are of Hawks; 

 but this is not quite conclusive; for, as shewn in previous 

 articles, pigeons and other small birds become habituated to 

 the presence of Hawks, and the latter, as it would seem, to 

 theirs, so that both parties dwell together in amity as much 

 as the Owls and pigeons, from acquired habit, or natural 

 instinct. 



'A person,' says Bishop Stanley, 'who kept pigeons, and 

 often had a great number of young ones destroyed, laid it 

 on a pair of Owls which visited the premises; and accord- 

 ingly, one moonlight night, he stationed himself, gun in 

 hand, close to the dove-house, for the purpose of shooting 

 the Owls. He had not taken his station long, before he 

 saw one of them flying out with a prize in its claws; he 

 pulled the trigger, and down came the poor bird, but instead 

 of finding the carcase of a young pigeon, he found an old 

 rat, nearly dead.' These Owls feed on shrew mice, though 

 rejected by cats and other animals, on account, as is supposed, 

 of their disliking either their taste or smell, but it would 

 seem that they do not prefer them, for the Rev. Leonard 

 Jenyns has observed that shrews are repeatedly found whole 

 beneath the nest, as if cast out for the like reason; and 

 I cannot help thinking that the very frequent occurrence 

 of these mice dead on pathways in fields, which every one 

 must have observed, may be attributable to the same cause. 

 Fish is also occasionally the prey of this species of Owl, as 

 well as of others, possibly at times of all. It has been 

 suggested that the glare of their eyes may be a means of 



