These birds make their appearance in this island in October, about the same time with the woodcocks, and depart with the latter in March. They are supposed to breed in the Orkneys, and probably in Norway. In Hol land it is very common in the months of September and October; and it is alike spread over Europe. and North America, visiting Hudson's Bay in May. During the day it generally lies concealed among oln long grass; and when disturbed, it seldom flies far, but will alight, and sit staring at one, in ‘s hich attitude the horns are distinctly visible. It has not been observed to perch on trees; and, in dark or hazy weather, it will hunt for its food in the day time. As it rids the fields of mice, moles, &c. its presence is welcomed by the unprejudiced husbandman No fewer than twenty-eight of them have been reckoned in a turnip field. The nest is said to consist of dried grass, placed on the ground, either on some small elevation, or in a marshy spot among tall herbage, and to contain truce or four round white eggs, of the size of those of the wood-pigeon. Though naturally a bold bird, it is tamed without difficulty.
S. nebulosa, Lath. &c. Barred-Owl. Transversely fas elated with brown and whitish above, with oblong, fer ruginous spots beneath. Length of the male sixteen inches; extent of the wings four feet, and the weight three pounds. The female is twenty-one inches long. On the upper parts, the whole bird is beautifully barred with numerous brown bands, on a yellowish white ground, or, as it might also be expressed, with white on a brown ground, the spaces between the two colours being nearly equal. Native of the regions of the arctic circle, from which itseldom deviates; and, though it occurs in Sweden and Norway, it is more abundant in North America, par ticularly in Hudson's Bay and New York, where it preys on hares, rats, and various sorts of grouse. It nestles on trees, and lays from two to four white eggs, of a very rounded form.
S. flammea, Lin. &c. Common, Screech, White, or Barn Owl. Provincially, Gillihowlet, Howlet, Madge Rowlet, Church Owl, Hissing Owl, &c. Sub-fulvous, with grey variegations; black and white spots down the the shafts of the feathers, white breast and abdomen, and glaucous eyes. The common occurrence of this bird, on the one and the superstitious apprehensions of the uninstructed, on the other, have contributed to the neglect of the downy softness and the uncommon elegance of its plumage. Its usual weight is eleven ounces, its length between thirteen and fourteen inches, and its stretch of wing three feet. It is very commonly diffused over Eu rope, in North and South America, in the deserts of Tar tary, in Persia, Indostan, and even in Australasia. It is likewise met with at the Cape of Good Hope, where it builds a regular nest among the rocks, forming it of a few twigs and dried leaves, and laying seven or eight oblong whitish eggs. In Europe, it chiefly frequents in
habited districts, and deposits from two to six eggs, in the hole of a wall, under the eaves of buildings, in a de cayed tree, &c. without any formal construction of a nest. While the young remain in their hole their parents alternately sally out in quest of food, make their circuit, beat the fields with the regularity or a spaniel, and drop instantly on their prey in the grass. One of them seldom stays out above five minutes, when it returns with its game in its claws; but as it is necessary to shift it into the bill, it alway alights for that purpose before it enters the nest. As the young remain long in this state of pro tection even after they can fly, several hundreds of mice will scarcely suffice to their maintenance.
The barn owl usually haunts churches, towers, barns, maltings, farm houses, &c. and its most ordinary food consists of rats, mice. and small birds. That it has no aversion to the flesh of the shrew-mouse, to which de leterious qualities have been foolishly ascribed, is abund antly ut.”, tuus from the fact, that Mr. Montagu extracted no fewer than five from the stomach of one of the pre sent species. In a state of nature, and in fine weather, it generally leaves its haunts about twilight, skimming along the ground, exploring the neighbouring woods for prey, and returning before sunrise, not hooting, but repeating a sort of blowing noise, like the snoring of a man who sleeps with his mouth open It expresses alai In by forcibly striking its mandihles together. When it flies, or alights, it, moreover, doles out certain lugubri ous and sharp notes, which, added to the solemnity and stillness of the scene, especially when near church-yards, are apt to inspire awe and apprehension in the minds of the ignorant, and are often interpreted by the sick, and the superstitious, especially in some of the country districts of France, as the presage of approaching disso lution. Yet the poor barn owl is a very harmless crea ture, and such an excellent mouser as to deserve the pro tection o every farmer and good housewife. It is easi ly caught in a small net, placed at its hole, and, if taken young, becomes very tame; but it is not easily sup ported in confinement, on account of its incessant calls for fresh mice. A gentleman who resides in Yorkshire, and who is very conversant in ornithology, having observ ed the scales of fishes in he nest of a pair of this spe cies, in the neiglibourhuod of a lake, was induced one, moonshine night, to watch their motions, when he was agreeably surprised to see one of them plunge into the water and seize a perch, which it bore to its nest.