I'jiE Barn Owl. BIRDS. The Javanese Owi.. 
271 
lias the facial discs complete, that is to sa}',they entirely 
surround the’' eyes ; and the two discs meet in the 
middle of the face in such a manner as to form a straight 
ridge, running upwards from the beak. The whole 
upper surface of the bird is of a light reddish-yellow 
colour, minutely mottled with ashy grey, and marked 
with combined small black and white spots ; the facial 
discs and the whole of the lower parts are white, the 
latter sometimes marked with a few dusky spots. The 
tail feathers are of the same colour as the upper surface, 
but marked with five transverse grey bars ; the beak 
is nearly white, and the claws brown. 
Unlike most of the owls to which we have previously 
referred, the Barn Owl does not take up his residence in 
the wilder parts of the country, but approaches boldly 
to the dwelling-places of man, and seeks his food in the 
midst of towns and villages, and in the cultivated fields 
surrounding them. His chosen retreat is some dark 
hole or corner of an old building, the tower of a church, 
or the roof of a barn ; sometimes, however, he takes up 
his quarters in a hollow tree. Strictly nocturnal in bis 
habits, he passes the whole day in his retreat, dozing 
away the bright hours, whose glare would be insup- 
portable to his eyes ; and if by any chance he is driven 
from his concealment at this time, he is so dazzled by 
the unwonted light as to become quite bewildered and 
helpless. To add to this misfortune when it happens, 
all the small birds within reach make a point of attacking 
him whenever he appears abroad during the period 
of their activity, and the unfortunate owl gets no rest 
until he reaches some fidendly shelter. Even when he 
has resorted to a wood, in order to enjoy his day’s rest 
under the shadow of the thick foliage, he does not always 
escape the malevolence of his little tormentors ; should 
a small bird discover him, the alarm is immediately 
given, and in a very short time the owl is surroimded 
by a troop of vociferous enemies. But when the sun 
goes down in the west, and the twilight begins to enve- 
lope the face of nature with its dusky mantle, the owl 
assumes a very different character ; from being the sport 
of the weakest inhabitants of the grove, he becomes a 
tyrant, and, gliding forth on noiseless pinions, goes to 
seek his prey. He may then be seen dashing round 
the stacks and buildings in the farm-yard, perching now 
and then upon a cart or waggon, or skimming rapidly 
over the fields and along the hedgerows, carrying 
destruction to all the weaker creatures which venture 
forth at night. The moment he perceives his prey 
upon the ground, he drops suddenly down, seizes it in 
his claws, and uttering a shrill cry, or screech, flies off 
with it to his nest. In this way rats and mice of all 
kinds, and other small mammalia, including even very 
yoTing hares and rabbits, are captured by this noctur- 
nal marauder, who also destroys larks and other small 
birds which may be met with on the ground. He often 
catches the moths and beetles which fly so abundantly 
during the summer evenings, and, according to Mr. 
Waterton, will also capture fish, by diving boldly into 
the water. But the principal food of the Barn Owl 
undoubtedly consists of the mice of different species, 
which abound to such an extent about the stack-yards 
and corn-fields, and these, when captured for the owl’s 
personal benefit, are generally swallowed whole, some- 
times without even their bones being broken. These, 
and other indigestible parts of all its prey, are afterwards 
collected into pellets in the stomach, and finally disgorged 
in its resting-place, where these pellets often accumulate 
to an astonishing amount. Mice also constitute the 
great bulk of the food brought by these owls to their 
young ones ; and it is upon this fact that Mr. Waterton 
relies in his plea for considering this bird as a bene- 
factor to the farmer. While the young are in the nest, 
which is the case throughout the greater part of the 
year, as several broods are produced in the season, the 
owls will bring a mouse to the nest every twelve or 
fifteen minutes ; and in the course of sixteen months, 
Mr. Waterton’s owls accumulated in their dwelling- 
place a deposit of more than a bushel of pellets, each 
of which seems to represent on an average about five 
mice. In the face of such facts as these, the Barn Owl 
should certainly be pardoned for any depredations that 
he may commit amongst the young of our game-birds, 
as these must be infinitely more than counterbalanced 
by the benefit he confers on the husbandman by the 
destruction of vermin. 
The nest of this bird is placed in its ordinary dwelling, 
and consists simply of a few sticks and straws, upon 
which the eggs are deposited. The eggs are said to 
vary from two to five in number ; and it appears, from 
a notice published many years ago by Mr. Blyth, that 
a fresh laying takes place before the first brood is able 
to quit the nest. He says that a nest was found in the 
neighbourhood of Tooting, which “contained two eggs, 
and when they were hatched, two more were laid, 
which latter were probably hatched by the warmth of 
the young birds ; a third laying took plaee after the 
latter were hatclied, and the nest at last contained six 
young owls of different ages, which were all reared.” 
The screeching cry of the Barn Owl, which is often 
heard about ruined buildings and church-yards, can 
hardly break suddenly on the ear during the silence of 
the night without producing some effect upon the imagi- 
nation, and this sound has been regarded in almost all 
ages and countries with a certain degree of superstilious 
dread. This equivocal honour is shared by the Barn 
Owl with many other species ; but, according to Pennant, 
the Barn Owl has the advantage over his brethren, in 
that the Mongols of Tartary “ almost pay it divine 
honours, because they attribute to its species the pre- 
servation of the founder of their empire, Genghis Khan. 
That piince, 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 liid, and induced his 
pursuers not to search tliere, as they thought it im- 
possible that any man could be concealed in a place 
where that bird would perch.” 
THE AMERICAN BARN OWL [Strlx perlata), which 
closely resembles the preceding, and was regarded by 
Wilson and other writers as identical with our Britisli 
species, is by no means common in the United States, 
but occurs more abundantly in the West Indies and 
South America. Its habits appear to resemble those 
of its European relative ; its favourite food consists of 
field-mice, of which it devours great quantities. 
THE JAVENESE OWL {Strix javanica), which has 
