90 
WHITE, OR BARN OWL. 
of -ninter, resort to the meadows below riiiladelpliia, and to the marshes 
along the seashore, for the purpose of feeding on these little animals, 
some account of them may not be improper in this place. Fig. 3 repre- 
sents the jNIeadow-mouse drawn by the same scale, viz. reduced to one- 
half its natural dimensions. Tliis species appears not to have been taken 
notice of by Turton, in his translation of Gmelin's Linnteus. From the 
nose to the insertion of the tail it measures four inches ; the tail is be- 
tween three-quarters and an inch long, hairy, and usually curves up- 
wards ; the fore feet are short, five-toed, the inner toe very short, but 
furnished with a claAv ; hind feet also five-toed ; the ears are shorter 
than the fur, through which, though large, they are scarcely noticeable ; 
the nose is blunt ; the color of the back is dark brown, that of the belly 
hoary ; the fur is long' and extremely fine ; the hind feet are placed very 
far back, and are also short ; the eyes exceeding small. This mischiev- 
ous creature is a great pest to the meadoAvs, burrowing in them in every 
direction ; but is particularly injurious to the embankments raised along 
the river, perforating them in numerous directions, and admitting the 
water, which afterwards increases to dangerous breaches, inundating large 
extents of these low grounds, and thus becoming the instruments of their 
own destruction. In their general figure they bear great resemblance 
to the common musk-rat, and, like them, swim and dive well. They 
feed on the bulbous roots of j^ilants, and also on garlic, of which they are 
remarkably fond.* 
Another favorite prey of most of our Owls is the bat, one species of 
which is represented at fig. 4, as it hung during the day in the woods 
where I found it. This also appears to be a nondescript. The length 
of this bat, from the nose to the tip of the tail, is four inches ; the tail 
itself is as long as the bod}^ but generally curls up inwards ; the general 
* As Wilson conjectured, this animal was a nondescript. It being a Cnnijjnr/iwl, 
it may he classed under the name of Arvicola Penn.ti/lcamcus ; as it is the same 
animal which was introduced into my catalogue of Mammalia, under that trivial 
denomination. As far as our information extends, the female brings fortli only iwo 
young at a litter. Her two teats are inguinal; and the young, by holding on to 
them, are transported by the mother whithersoever she goes. — that is, when they 
are inclined to accompany her; when dragged along, their position is between her 
hind legs ; and she can run with them hanging to her, as stated, with considi_rable 
swiftness. 
Dr. Leach, in the Zoological IMiscellany, vol. i., p. GO, figured and desci-ilied a 
Caiiipcujiwl, which had been received from Hudson's Bay. This animal. wh].'li was 
named A. zantliognatha, has been mistaken, by some naturalists, for the pvesent 
species, which is not half its size: the Fulvous-cheeked Campagnol measures, from 
the tip of its nose to the base of its tail, at least vine inches, whilst the admeasure- 
ment of ours is not more than four inches. Dr. Leach's description is too imper- 
fect: it lacks those details which are essential in discriminating species. Tlie size 
of his animal we infer from his figure, which he says is ''rather less than half of 
the natural size." — G. Ord. 
