BIRDS 171 



Order STR1GES. Fam. ST RIGID M. 



BARN OWL. 



Strix Jlammea, L. 

 This Owl was at one time a very common bird in Lakeland, 

 nesting in such old ruins as those of Cockermouth Castle, in dis- 

 used chimney- shafts, and occasionally in hollow trees. It has a 

 penchant for rearing its young in dovecots, as at Corby Castle. 

 A few pairs of Barn Owls breed in clefts in the red-sandstone 

 cliffs above the river Eden. An examination of the pellets 

 beneath one of their nesting-places showed that the birds were 

 in the habit of feeding on the Water Shrew, the teeth of that 

 small animal being easily recognised. Even upon Walney Island 

 the Barn Owl is occasionally taken incidentally in rabbit- traps. 

 Its visits to that island are doubtless prompted by the experi- 

 ence that the rats abound in the hedge-banks. Most naturalists 

 are aware that the Barn Owl breeds almost throughout the year, 

 but the fact is not equally familiar to the general public ; hence 

 the following note from Mr. W. H. Doeg of Botcherby, dated 

 November 14, 1888, deserves reproduction here: 'The owls 

 [a pair of wild Barn Owls] sit on my roof every night for hours, 

 and snore loud enough to be heard in the house. Last night, 

 at 9.30, I heard an unusual row, and went into the yard. The 

 old Owls flew away, and a young one fell out of the hole to the 

 ground. It could only hop and flutter. The old birds had 

 reared two broods already.' But, though more prolific than 

 most nocturnal birds of prey, the Barn Owl has decreased of late 

 years in many parts of Lakeland, in consequence of the cruel 

 thoughtlessness which dictates its destruction. In addition to 

 the benefits which this Owl confers so lavishly on farmers, by 

 the crusade which it constantly exercises against Muridce, men- 

 tion should be made of its feeding upon insects. This has been 

 ascertained both by dissection and by external observations 

 upon the habits of the bird. Thus, on the 12th of June 1889, 

 when standing in a garden at Dalston, I watched a Barn Owl 

 gliding noiselessly along the tops of the hedgerows, and also 

 flying around the upper branches of the larger trees, evidently 

 picking off insects. Once to our surprise the Owl alighted on 



