270 Accipitkes. B I RDS. Strigid^. 
owl kind.” He adds that, in a nest which he found in 
Hoy, there “ were the remains of a moorfowl, two 
plovers, besides the feet of several others, and the 
birds, two in number, ready to fly.” The nest is made 
upon the ground amongst the lieath and other plants ; 
it is a rude habitation, often consisting only of a hole 
scraped in the ground, upon which the eggs are laid, 
without even the slightest attempt at a lining. The 
eggs are usually two or three in number. 
THE BROWN OWL {Syrnium ahico ) — Plate 3, flg 9 
— often called the Tawny Otol, which is not an un- 
common bird in wooded districts in England, is nearly 
allied to the preceding species, but differs from them 
in the total absence of the ear-like tufts upon the head. 
It measures about fifteen or sixteen inches in length. 
This owl appears to become rarer towards the north, 
so that in the Orkneys it is only met with in the sum- 
mer, and it is less abundant in Scotland generally than 
in England ; it is common in most parts of the continent 
of Europe, and also occurs in Asia and the north of 
Africa. 
In its habits the Brown Owl is strictly nocturnal; the 
glare of day dazzles and bewilders it so much as Ip 
render it perfectly helpless, and it shows the wisdom 
which might be expected from the favourite of Minerva, 
by retreating during the day to the cover of some thick 
wood, where it reposes amongst the dense foliage. But 
as the sun sinks below the western horizon, and the 
shades of evening gradually steal over the open country, 
the Brown Owl prepares to quit its place of concealment, 
in order to satisfy an appetite which, as it is somewhat 
indiscriminate, is perhaps appeased with but little dif- 
ficulty. Flitting along with noiseless wings the owl 
finds it easy to surprise the smaller quadrupeds, such as 
rats, mice, and moles ; but he is not content with these, 
and boldly seizes on young rabbits and leverets when 
they come in his way. Small birds, also, constitute a 
portion of his diet, and to this varied supper he often 
adds frogs, insects, and even fish. Of the latter, 
he has been known to capture both those species 
which often swim near the surface of deep water, and 
those which, like the bullhead and the loach, dwell 
amongst tiie stones, at the bottom of shallow brooks. 
Mr. M‘Gillivray mentions that he found the stomach of 
one of these birds nearly filled with earthworms, torn 
into fragments of about half-an-inoh in length. With 
so many resources, the Brown Owl can hardly ever 
want a good supper. While engaged in its predatory 
excursions, it emits a loud and doleful hooting cry, re- 
sembling the syllables Jioo-Jioo-ltoo, and occasionally 
gives utterance to a shrill scream. 
The Brown Owl does not appear to build a nest of 
its own, but deposits its eggs, and hatches and brings 
up its young, either in the hole of a tree, or in the 
deserted nest of some other bird. The eggs are three 
or four in number, and pure white ; they are hatched 
in April. 
THE BARRED OWL (Syrniani ncbulosum), one of 
the commonest owls in the United States of America, 
is considerably larger than the preceding ; for although 
the male is only sixteen or seventeen inches in length, 
the female often measures twenty-two inches, or even 
two feet. It is of a reddish-brown colour above. 
streaked and spotted with white ; the neck and breast 
are whitish, with transverse brown bars, and the belly 
is yellowish, streaked longitudinally with brown. 
The Barred Owl is an inhabitant of the woods and 
forests of North America, where its loud discordant cry, 
which is compared by Audubon to the syllables whah- 
whah-whah-whah-aa, is constantly to be heard as the 
shades of evening descend upon the earth. Accorditig 
to the author just mentioned, the effect of this cry is 
very strange and ludicrous, so that he says it would not 
be surprising if the hearer were to compare it “ to the 
affected bursts of laughter which he may have heard 
from some of the fashionable members of our own 
species.” Proceeding in this cynical strain, Audubon 
gives us to understand that the gestures of the bird are 
as ludicrous as his voice, and says, “ The liveliness of 
his motions, joined to their oddness, have often made 
me think that his society would be at least as agreeable 
as that of many of the buffoons we meet with in the 
world.” It is not, however, at night only that this owl 
is active ; it flies freely by day, and, when the weather 
is lowering, its cry is heard all day long. When ap- 
proached by any intruder on its solitudes, its gestures 
are very curious. It lowers its head, puffs out the 
surrounding feathers so as to form a sort of ruff, fixes 
its eyes in a broad stare upon the intruder, and, whilst 
watching his movements, moves its head to and fro in 
so extraordinary a manner as almost to lead one to the 
belief that that part is dislocated from its body. If the 
object of its suspicions approach it too closely, it flies 
off to a short distance, and alights with its back to the 
person, but immediately turns round with a single jumj) 
to recommence its scrutiny. If it be shot at and missed, 
it flies off to a considerable distance, and, on alighting 
ill a safe place, utters its cry in a pompous tone, which 
seems to indicate some degree of triumph over the 
unsuccessful marksman. 
The food of the Barred Owl consists of young rabbits, 
leverets, mice, and small birds; it is also a great 
destroyer of chickens, and is said by Audubon to be 
“ especially fond of a kind of frog of a brown colour, 
very common in the woods of Louisiajia.” On the 
other hand the owl itself is made use of as food by man ; 
and it “ is very often exposed for sale in the markets 
of New Orleans. The creoles make yumho of it, and 
pronounce the flesh palatable.” The eggs are laid 
either in the holes of trees upon the dust and rotten wood 
with which they are covered at the bottom, or in the 
deserted nest of a crow or hawk ; they vary in number 
from four to six, and are of almost the same size as a 
hen’s egg, but nearly globular in form. 
THE BARN OWL {Slrix flammea)—VMQ 4, fig. 11— 
which is also frequentl)^ called the White Owl and the 
Screech Owl, is the commonest species ot the whole of 
this family in the British isles, and is likewise very 
generally distributed in all parts of the eastern hemi- 
sphere. The Barn Owl of the United States, which is 
very similar to the British bird, was formerly regaided 
as identical with it, but it is now generally admitted to 
constitute a distinct species. 
The Barn Owl measures from fourteen to fifteen inches 
in length, the females being usually about an inch 
longer than the males. Like tlie preceding species, it 
