THE OWL. 105 



time on the wing, his up-and-down method of travelling 

 not being suited for hunting ; so he prefers to sit on a 

 telegraph-wire, or any other convenient perch, and await 

 eventualities. 



He is very much of a domestic Owl, and I am told, is 

 sometimes so tame in verandahs where he is unmolested 

 that he will let himself be touched ; for under man's hos- 

 pitable roof he finds a dormitory for the day-time, and a 

 convenient nesting place. The few eggs his mate lays are 

 white, like those of all Owls, and the fluffy owlets, when 

 fledged, are drab-and-white with yellow eyes just like 

 their parents, for as a general rule Owls do not go in for 

 invidious distinctions between different sexes and ages in 

 the matter of dress. In Burma and Western India, the 

 little Owls are smaller and darker than hereabout ; and in 

 the north-west, about Peshawar, begins the range of an- 

 other species, the Bactrian Owlet (Athene bactriana) chiefly 

 differing from the Indian bird in being streaked instead of 

 barred below. This bird is almost identical with the cele- 

 brated Owl of Minerva (Athene noctua), which must have 

 been as common in Athens as Athene brama is here, since 

 '' to take owls to Athens " was the classical equivalent 

 for taking coals to Newcastle. Minerva's Owl was, of 

 course, the bird of wisdom, and by their selection the 

 Greeks showed their own discernment, for Owls are any- 

 thing but the futile creatures which popular tradition 

 makes them to be both here and at home. An Owl com- 

 bines valour with discretion ; his nest is more dangerous 

 to rob than a hawk's, while as to his habits by day he may 

 well say with Diomed " thou dost miscall retire; I do 



