H. Hampe—My Tame Barn Owl 55


as soon as I spoke it became friendly and twittered in obvious

embarrassment.


The Owl was afraid of carp and other fishes which it often saw

swimming in a vessel in the kitchen, and was absolutely terrified if it

was shown a harmless grass snake, so much so that after an attempt

at defiance it took to flight. It feared cats and certain other birds

such as Peregrine Falcons and the large Buzzards, but would attack

them in the same way as it did human beings, neither could it endure

the sight of other Owls. It knew how to capture live Sparrows and

cockchafers in flight, but it preferred mice, though curiously enough

it often let them escape as it had the habit of watching them earnestly

while it wagged its head from side to side, sitting meanwhile on its

lofty perch on the curtain pole before it made a pounce. If this

happened at the right moment, the mouse would be seized and killed

at once. It liked to catch paper balls, and would play with these and

suchlike things like a kitten or a puppy. It was exceedingly inquisitive,

and minutely inspected anything new in the room, but if flowers were

arranged it was not satisfied until the vase lay in bits on the floor,

which did not endear it to my wife, who found great fault with this

habit. Except for this, the Owl did not do much damage, nor did it

make much mess. As soon as it was let out of its cage it went to one

particular spot and made a large evacuation. But after this it made

only a few quite small ones in the course of the evening. A Robin with

its frequent though small evacuations dirtied the room and furniture

much more.


I was very fond of this bird, and was much grieved when it died

at the age of only three years. It had eaten some of a hen which was

brought to me, and had probably been poisoned.


The other Owls which I kept never became so tame, either because

they were too old when I obtained them, or I could not find enough

time to devote to them. Adult Owls naturally never become really

tame, and even young ones require much time and patience, also

they should be alone, which cannot easily be managed with a large

collection of birds.



