The Barn Owl, as its name imports, is a pretty conftant 

 refident in barns or out-buildings, where by devouring the 

 vermin it amply repays the farmer for melter ; its principal 

 food is mice and fmall birds. Mr. White, in his hiftory of 

 Selbourn, gives the following entertaining account, " We have 

 had ever fince I can remember, a pair of White Owls, that 

 conftantly breed under the eaves of this church (Selbourn) ; as 

 I have paid good attention to the manner of life of thefe birds 

 during their feafon of breeding, which lafts the fummer 

 through, the following remarks may not perhaps be unaccept- 

 able : about an hour before funfet (for then the mice begin 

 to run) they fally forth in queft of prey, and hunt all round 

 the hedges of the meadows and fmall enclofures for them, 

 which feems to be their only food. In this irregular country, 

 we can {land on an eminence and fee them beat the fields over 

 like a fetting dog, and often drop down in the grafs or corn, 



*.? I have minuted thefe birds with my watch for an hour 

 together, and have found that they return to their neft, the one 

 or the other of them, about once in five minutes ; reflecting 

 at the fame time on the adroitnefs that every animal is pofTelTed 

 of, as far as regards the well-being of itfelf and offspring. 



** But a piece of addrefs, which they mew when they re- 

 turn loaded, mould not I think be palled over in filence. As 

 they take their prey with their claws, fo they carry it in their 

 claws to the neft ; but as the feet are neceflary in their afcent 

 under the tiles, they conftantly perch firft on the roof of the 

 chancel, and mift the moufe from their claws to their bill, 

 that the feet may be at liberty to take hold of the plate on the 

 wall, as they are rifing under the eaves." Mr. Montague 



remarks, 



