THE OWL. 131 



heads with, and that some other species besides this 

 Owl have a similar arrangement ; but nature has 

 distributed the favour with a niggard and partial hand 

 and in a manner that at present defies conjecture. < 

 But his structural peculiarities are not the only 

 points about the Barn-owl ; he teems with interest. 

 For one thing, he is one of the most cosmopolitan of 

 birds, being found practically everywhere, except 

 in the high north and in New Zealand ; he varies in 

 colour and size to an extent which has given natu- 

 ralists a great deal of trouble, for several beautiful 

 species could be made out of him if his progeny 

 would stick to one type. But this they will not do ; 

 once in Calcutta I had two fine young birds of the 

 same age, and presumably the same brood, of which 

 one had a white face and breast, while the other's 

 breast was buff, and its face smoky grey. Both 

 were spotted with black below, which is usual 

 with the Barn-owl here, whereas in England the 

 bird's waistcoat is plain. The English Barn-owl 

 also tends to sport a white tail, the Indian bird's 

 being buff with dark bars. But then the same 

 bird in Jamaica comes out with the points of 

 the English form, thus upsetting a beautiful rule 

 that might otherwise be framed to the efiect that 

 " insular tropical forms of this owl are very dark." 

 The Andaman Barn-owl certainly bears out the rule 



