442 WHITE, OR BARN OWL. 
meadows below Philadelphia. Its stomach contained the mangled 
carcasses of four large meadow mice, hair, bones, and all. The com- 
mon practice of most Owls 1s, after breaking the bones; to swallow the 
mouse entire; the bones, hair, and other indigestible parts, are after- 
wards discharged from the mouth in large, roundish, dry balls, that are 
frequently met with in such places as these birds usually haunt. 
As the meadow mouse is so eagerly sought after by those birds, 
and also by great numbers of Hawks, which regularly, at the com- 
mencement of winter, resort to the meadows be‘ow Philadelphia, and 
to the marshes along the sea-shore, for the purpose of feeding on these 
little animals, some account of them may not be improper in this place. 
Fig. 198 represents the meadow mouse, reduced to one half its natural 
dimensions. This species appears not to have been taken notice of 
by Turton in the latest edition of his translation of Linneus. From 
the nose to the insertion of the tail, it measures four inches; the tail 
is between three quarters and an inch long, hairy, and usually 
curves upwards; the fore feet are short, five-toed, the inner toe very 
short, but furnished with a claw; hind feet also five-toed; the ears 
are shorter than the fur, through which, though large, they are scarcely 
noticeable ; the nose is blunt; the color of the back is dark brown, 
that of the belly, hoary ; the fur is long, and extremely fine; the hind 
feet are placed very far back, and are also short; the eyes exceeding 
small. This mischievous creature is a great pest to the meadows, 
burrowing in them in every direction; but is particularly injurious to 
the embankments raised along the river, perforating them in numerous 
directions, and admitting the water, which afterwards effects danger- 
ous breaches, inundating large extents of these low grounds, + and 
thus they become the instruments of their own destruction. In their 
general figure they bear great resemblance to the common musk rat, 
and like them swim and dive well. They feed on the bulbous roots 
of plants, and also on garlic, of which they are remarkably fond. 
Another favorite prey of most of our Owls is the Bat, one species 
of which is represented Fig. 199, as it hung during the day in the 
woods where I found it. This also appears to be a nondescript. The 
length of this Bat, from the nose to the tip of the tail, is four inches; 
the tail itself is as long as the body, but generally curls up inwards; 
the general color is a bright iron gray, the fur being of a reddish 
cream at bottom, then strongly tinged with lake, and minutely tipped 
with white ; the ears are scarcely half an inch long, with two slight 
valves; the nostrils are somewhat tubular; fore teeth, in the upper 
jaw none, in the lower four, not reckoning the tusks; the eyes are 
very small black points; the chin, upper part of the breast, and head, 
are of a pale reddish cream color; the wings have a single hook or 
claw each, and are so constructed, that the animal may hang either 
with its head or tail downward. I have several times found two 
hanging fast locked together behind a leaf, the hook of one fixed in 
the mouth of the other; the hind feet are furnished with five toes, 
sharp clawed; the membrane of the wings is dusky; shafts, light 
brown; extent, twelve inches. In a cave, not far from Carlisle, in 
Pennsylvania, [ found a number of these Bats in the depth of winter, 
in very severe weather: they were lying on the prcjecting shelves of 
the rocks, and when-the brand of fire was held near them, wrinkled up 
