THE WHITE OWL— SCREECH OWL, 31 



in so great a mass of feathers, as to appear much larger than 

 they are. The eyes of the great horned owl are large and 

 transparent, and encircled with an orange-coloured iris : its ears 

 are large and open: its plumage is of a reddish brown, marked 

 on the back with black and yellow spots, and with yellow ones 

 alone on the belly. This bird has sometimes been seen in Scot- 

 land, and also in Yorkshire ; but it is not common in any part 

 of England. It inhabits inaccessible rocks and deserted places, 

 such as ruinous castles and unfrequented caverns ; and preys 

 upon hares, rabbits, and all kinds of feathered game. 



Next in size is the common horned owl, which, like the former, 

 appears much larger than it is, on account of the fulness of its 

 plumage. When its wings are expanded, their extent from one 

 extremity to the other is about three feet, and its horns are com- 

 posed of six feathers on each side, of about an inch in length. 

 Its colour is a reddish brown, with a mixture of white, and their 

 legs are feathered down to the toes. These birds seldom take 

 the trouble of making a nest, but generally take possession of 

 some deserted one, which has been occupied by the magpie, or 

 the buzzard. They lay four or five eggs. The young are at 

 first quite white, but come to their colour in about fifteen days. 

 This kind of owl is common in France and England. There 

 are several other varieties of the horned owl, which we shall 

 omit, and briefly mention two or three of the tribe wliich are 

 without horns. 



THE WHITE, OR COMMON BARN OWL, 



Is the most generally known of any of this kind, as it may be 

 said to be almost domesticated. It seldom hoots, but often 

 screams tremendously. It generally haunts barns and granaries, 

 where it renders great services to mankind, by clearing those 

 places of the mice, and other vermin which resort thither, and are 

 so destructive among grain. 



THE IVY, OR SCREECH OWL, 



Is that to which the gloomy apprehensions of mankind have 

 attributed the power of presaging death or calamity ; and the 

 writers of poetry and romances, in order to render their scenery 

 more impressive, have, in conformity to popular superstition, fre- 

 quently introduced it into their descriptive representations, when 

 some melancholy scene was to be displayed. The circumstance 

 which has caused this bird to be accounted ominous, appears to 

 be that of its screaming in a tremendous manner ; together 

 with its natural propensity of approaching toward a window, 

 where it sees a light at a late hour. As lights are generally 

 kept continually burning in the chambers of the sick, and the 

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