3i6 



The Barn Owl. 



to show that the Barn Owl is one of the most beneficial of 

 rapacious birds. Audubon remarks with reference to this 

 American species, that after long observation he is satisfied 

 that this bird feeds entirely on the smaller species of 

 quadrupeds. 



In the Report of the Departmental Committee of the 

 Board of Agriculture on Field Voles in 1893 it is stated 

 that white and brown owls prey upon these pests, which 

 caused much mischief on hill farms in Scotland ; and in their 

 two schedules of the natural enemies of the vole the Committee 

 place in the first category of " Vole-killers, harmless or 

 nearly so to sheep, crops, and game," owls of all sorts, 

 buzzards, kestrels, and the smaller seagulls. 



The Barn Owl is found in all parts of the British Isles and 

 in many other countries, though it is somewhat rare in the 

 northern parts of Scotland. According to Seebohm it is really 

 a tropical bird, found throughout the equatorial region of 

 both hemispheres, and not ranging more than forty degrees 

 north of the equator, except in Western Europe, where the in- 

 fluence of the Gulf Stream has produced a climate mild 

 enough to allow of it wintering there. In length it is about 

 fourteen inches, with very long wings reaching below the 

 tail. The legs are long and thin, covered with downy 

 feathers, and with long claws ; there are no tufts on the head, 

 which is light buff in colour. The usual colour of the under 

 parts of the body is white and of the back buff, with bars 

 and spots of blackish gray. The inside of the wings is white ; 

 the back and exterior of the wings vary somewhat in colour 

 in different specimens. 



The Barn Owl lays its eggs towards the end of April in 

 church towers, barns, ruins, or old buildings, holes in rocks, 

 or in hollow trees. Its nest is of the most rudimentary 

 character. The eggs are pure white, and about one-and- 

 a-quarter inches in length. From three to six are laid, and 

 sometimes eggs laid after the first brood of owlets has come 

 forth are hatched by the warmth of these young ; so that 

 owlets in various stages of growth may be found in the same 

 nest. 



Seeing that there is such an unanimity ot evidence from 



