THE BARN OWL. 167 



breed only at one particular season, but all the season over, 

 as late as December; and many of them, no doubt, have two 

 broods. 



The number of mice that a colony of owls could thus 

 destroy would be immense. A mouse every twelve or fifteen 

 minutes, Mr. Waterton says, is the allowance brought to the 

 young ; and the (pair ?) in the old gateway cast up a bushel 

 of pellets in sixteen months, each pellet containing the skele- 

 tons of from four to seven mice. Thus, if owls were esta- 

 blished at every farm, the caterwauling of cats, which is more 

 unmusical than any other sound of animal, would be less 

 necessary, the houses would be cleared of mice, and probably 

 eaten up by black-beetles. 



It may be further noticed on the score of the hooting, that 

 the utterance of such a sound would be rather against the 

 barn-owl in its mousing. The hooting, except in so far as it 

 may be a love-note, must be calculated to stir the game, and 

 therefore applicable only to birds on the perch or lying close, 

 which, when they stir, stir into notice, and not to mice, which 

 when alarmed, stir out of both notice and danger. The 

 familiarity of these owls is proved by one picking up a rat in 

 sight of Mr. Waterton, not long after he had fired a shot ; 

 and he records some fresh instances of their fishing. 



The barn-owl is about the same dimensions and weight as 

 the tawny owl, only a little longer in the wings, as birds that 

 fly in the free air are generally longer winged than those 

 which inhabit forests. Its general colour on the upper part 

 is yellowish brown, and on the under part white. The upper 

 part is streaked, spotted, and sprinkled with white, grey, and 

 dusky ; and the conchse are dusky round the eye, but passing 

 into white at the margins. The sexes are equal in size ; but 

 the male has more grey above, and more buff on the under 

 part. They are well defined ; and as the dark line at their 

 junction extends almost to the beak, the two when seen in 



