24 NATURE AND WOODCRAFT. 



the piercing screech of a Barn Owl comes from 

 a dismantled tower. Here the white owls have 

 lived time out of mind, and we have seen 

 and heard them, asleep and awake, through 

 every hour of the day and night. The Barn 

 Owl is the " screech " owl of bird literature, the 

 Brown Owl the true hooting owl — the former, 

 however, hoots at times. This species is found 

 in old and heavily timbered districts, and par- 

 ticularly loves the dark and sombre gloom of 

 resinous pine-woods. 



One of the most piteous sounds that is borne 

 on the night is the hare's scream when it finds 

 itself in the poacher's nets. It resembles nothing 

 so nearly as the cry of a child, and when it sud- 

 denly ceases, we know that the wire snare has 

 tightened round its throat. All night long 

 Crake answers Crake from the meadows, ap- 

 pearing now at our feet, now far out yonder. 

 Like the Cuckoo, the Cornrail is a bird oftener 

 heard than seen; it is of hiding habits, and 

 finds a secure and snug retreat in lush summer 

 grass. Beneath the oaks, bats encircle after 

 night-flying insects, and there by the stream- 

 side are clouds of gauzy ephemeras. The wild 

 whistle of a Curlew comes from high over- 



