THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



183 



records one pied with white, and another 

 with the ground colour white with the 

 markings only very faintly distinct. 



Note. — The note of this species is a 

 sort of harsh screech, hence it is often called 

 the screech owl. The young birds, while 

 they are in the nest, make a kind of snoring 

 noise, which is also made by the old birds. 



Flight.— This bird loves to fly in the 

 twilight or moonlight, wheeling softly and 

 without the slightest noise about the stack- 

 yard, or over a certain track of ground. It 

 generally flies low, and at intervals suddenly 

 drops upon some unwary mouse or rat, 

 which it clutches and bears off to its young 

 brood. 



Migration. — This is a resident bird, 

 frequenting the same places all the year 

 round. 



Pood. — The food of the Barn owl con- 

 sists almost entirely of rats, mice, and their 

 allies. It is thus a bird of very great service 

 upon a farm, where it should always be 

 encouraged. But give a dog a bad name 

 and you know the consequences : and the 

 poor Barn owl has obtained a bad name by 

 being seen too frequently in the vicinity of 

 the dovecote. Thompson and others record 

 instances of this owl breeding in dovecotes, 

 and in no one instance has it been accused 

 of molesting the pigeons. The remains of 

 from twelve to fifteen rats and mice have 

 been counted as the results of a single 

 night's repast, and in the stomach of all I 

 have examined, I never found the remains 

 of any birds, though Mr. Bond informs 

 me he has found skulls of sparrows, &c., in 

 their castings. Bishop Stanley records an 

 instance of a person who kept pigeons and 

 had the young ones frequently destroyed, 

 as he thought, by a pair of owls which 

 frequented the premises. So one moonlight 

 night he determined to be revenged, and 

 stationing himself near the dovecote with 

 his gun, he awaited his victim. Presently 



one of the owls came out of the pigeon- 

 house and was flying away with something 

 in its claws. Bang went the engine of 

 destruction, and down came the poor bird. 

 The man had murdered his best friend, 

 for he found that the object it was carrying 

 away was an old rat. This bird has also 

 been known to feed on fish. 



In Confinement this owl is very inter- 

 esting and also useful, as may be seen from 

 the above. It is easily tamed, especially if 

 taken from the nest when young, and 

 becomes attached to those it knows if treated 

 with kindness and affection. Tame ones 

 j have even been known to return after they 

 have had their liberty given them, while 

 others have brought wild birds to share in 

 their fare. 



Habitat. — The vicinity of old barns, 

 churches, ruins, and ivy-clad trees seem to 

 be the favourite haunts of this species. It 

 is distributed more or less over all the 

 British Isles. 



Abroad this is the most universally dis- 

 tributed of the British Raptores, being found 

 nearly all over the world, except the extreme 

 north, the eastern part of Asia, and the 

 southern point of the American continent. 



Nest. — The nest is placed in a hole in 

 some old ruin, generally among ivy, or in 

 an hollow tree. Very little material is used 

 in its construction ; a few twigs or bits of 

 hay or straw being all the birds require, but 

 the castings soon accumulate and form a 

 bed. 



Eggs. — The eggs seem to be laid ,in 

 pairs. Two eggs will be laid and sat upon, 

 and just before they hatch two more will be 

 laid ; when tlie first two are hatched, the 

 warmth of the young birds serves to hatch 

 the second pair, and a third pair are laid 

 and hatched in :i similar mannar. Thus 

 the time of the old birds can be employed 

 in providing food. The eggs, like those of 

 all the owls, are white. 



