78 
VERTEBRATA. 
domestication, and becomes very amusing. Waterton, the celebrated naturalist and traveler, had 
a large colony of these owls at his country-seat, Walton Hall, in England. They became very 
numerous, and were by no means shy, so that their natural history was very easily studied. 
Among the curious facts furnished by him in respect to this species are the following : 
" When one of these birds has young, it will bring a mouse to its nest about every twelve or 
fifteen minutes. But in order to have a proper idea of the enormous quantity of mice which it 
destroys, we must examine the pellets which it ejects from its stomach in the place of its retreat. 
Every pellet contains from four to seven skeletons of mice. In sixteen months from the time 
when the apartment of the owl in the old gateway was cleaned out there has been a deposit of 
above a bushel of pellets." From this it appears that the barn-owl is an. uncommonly good liver ; 
it may be added, that although the farmers have generally been an enemy of this owl, it is no 
doubu one of their greatest benefactors. 
This bird, as it appears, is not confined to Europe, but extends to Asia ; it inhabits Tartary, 
where, according to Pennant, "the Moguls and natives almost pay it divine honors, because they 
attribute to it the preservation of the founder of their empire, Genghis Khan. That prince, 
with his small army, happened to be surprised and put to flight by his enemies, and forced to 
conceal himself in a little coppice ; an owl settled on the bush under which he was hid, and 
induced his pursuers not to search there, as they thought it impossible that any man could be 
concealed in a place where that bird would perch. Thenceforth they held it to be sacred, 
and everyone wore a plume of the feathers of this species on his head. To this day the Kalmucs 
continue the custom on all great festivals, and some tribes have an idol in the form of an owl, 
to which they fasten the real legs of one." 
The American Barn-Owl, S. Americana^ was long considered as identical with the preceding, 
but though it resembles it, it is larger, measuring sixteen inches. It is found throughout the 
United States — very sparingly in New England and the Middle States, but being more abundant 
in the South and West ; it is also found in Mexico and Canada. It is less accustomed to dwell 
in the vicinity of towns and villages than the barn-owl of Europe, and instead of making its retreat 
in churches and ruins, it lives chiefly in old trees. In other respects it is exceedingly like the 
European bird we have just described. 
The Pigmy Owl, S. infmcata^ is the smallest North American species known, being but six 
and a half inches long : found in Oregon and California. 
The Boobook: or Buck-Buck, S. hookhook of Latham, is an Australian species, which may be 
heard nearly every night during winter, uttering a cry corresponding with that word. Although 
this note is known to every one, the bird itself is known but to few, and it has cost naturalists 
considerable time and trouble before they could satisfy themselves respecting its identity. The 
cry of the bird is somewhat similar to that of the European cuckoo, and the colonists have hence 
given it that name. The lower order of the settlers in New South AVales are led away by the 
idea that every thing is the reverse in that country of what it is in England, and the cuckoo, as 
they call this bird, singing by night, is one of the instances which they point out. 
The Cape Owl, S. Capensis, is found in the regions near the Cape of Good Hope. It has been 
sometiraes confounded with the barn-owl, which is abundant there, and is called Doodvogel, but 
it is a distinct species. 
