The FLAME OWL, or BARN OWL (_Strix flammea_), is from twelve to fourteen
inches long, and from thirty-six to thirty-nine inches broad; the wing
measures about eleven, and the tail from four and a half to five inches.
The upper part of the plumage is dark grey; the nape and back of the head
reddish yellow, delicately marked with tiny black and white streaks; the
under side deep reddish yellow, spotted with brown and white; the long
feathers upon the face are either entirely of uniform reddish white, or
become gradually lighter towards the tip; the quills are rust red upon
the inner and whitish upon the outer web, spotted and striped three or
four times with dark brown; the reddish yellow tail-feathers are striped
with black, and have a broad dark grey patch, mottled with white at the
extremity; the beak and cere are reddish white; the bare portions of the
foot blueish grey, and the eye dark brown. The female is of a somewhat
duskier hue than her mate.
Old ruins of every description are constantly frequented by these
birds, such lofty mountain ranges as are barren of trees they carefully
avoid, but in every other situation are more or less frequently met
with. The Barn Owls are stationary in their habits, and often remain
for years in the same locality, spending the day in some retired nook,
and sallying forth at night in quest of prey. Their sleep is extremely
light, and, if disturbed, their contortions are amusing to behold, as
they rock themselves from side to side upon their legs, and peer blindly
at the intruder, expressing their uneasiness by a variety of the most
extraordinary grimaces which we can conceive even an Owl's face to
be capable of. If very hard pressed they seek safety in flight, and
thus prove that they are not so completely blinded by the light as is
popularly supposed. When evening sets in their active life commences,
and they may then be constantly seen and heard, sweeping slowly about,
and uttering their dismal cry at short intervals, as they flit over
the ground, or settle for a short time upon the house-tops. Rats,
mice, moles, and small birds, as well as the larger kinds of insects,
constitute their principal food. They have frequently been accused of
attacking Pigeons, but this we believe is not the case.
So adroit and rapid are the manœuvres of these Owls when hungry,
that their victims have but small chance of escape, and we would
therefore warn such of our readers as are tempted to try the effect of
domestication upon them to keep a very sharp watch indeed upon any other
feathered pets that may be in the same house. A friend of Dr. Brehm's,
after endeavouring to tame one of these birds for about a week, ventured
on the strength of its good training to leave it for one single minute
in his dark room, while he hurried away to obtain a light; when, lo,
upon his return he beheld the Owl behind a stove, quietly finishing the
remains of his pet Linnet, which it had seized, killed, and more than
half devoured in that short space of time! This same Owl would often
eat as many as fifteen mice during the day. In Spain a strange idea is
very prevalent respecting this species, it being supposed to enter the
churches and consume the olive oil employed in the lamps by which those
buildings are lighted. For our own part we believe that such a charge
is quite unfounded, and that the Owl in this case is no more guilty of
the offence, than the terrible cat facetiously described as working so
much havoc in English kitchens. The Spaniards make use of the body of
this bird extensively in medicine, after it has been soaked in oil.
According to Pennant "the Monguls of Tartary pay the Barn Owls almost
divine honours, because they attribute to one of them the preservation of
Ghenghis Khan, the founder of their empire. That prince, with his small
army, happened to be surprised and put to flight by his enemies; when
forced to conceal himself in a little coppice, an Owl settled on the bush
under which he was hid, and induced his pursuers not to search there, as
they thought it impossible that any man could be concealed in a place
where that bird would perch."
It was formerly supposed that the Barn Owls laid their eggs about April,
but recent observations have proved this statement to be incorrect. The
breeding season really commences in the autumn, and during this period
the happy pair testify their love and devotion to each other by loud
and constant cries, as they fly sportively together around and over the
towers and turrets near which they have taken up their abode--nest there
is none, the young family being reared at the bottom of a hole, or in
some retired corner. The nestlings are reared upon mice, and are most
carefully tended by their parents, who nurse their progeny so devotedly
that they have frequently been known to carry food to them for weeks or
even months, after they have been captured and shut up in a cage.
[Illustration]
THE GAPERS (_Hiantes_).
The order to which we have given the name of GAPERS (_Hiantes_) includes
a considerable number of families, which, though differing considerably
from each other in some trifling respects, are related in many essential
particulars. Nearly all these birds are of small or moderate size, and
are recognisable by their slender though powerful body, short neck,
large and remarkably flat head, long narrow-pointed wings, and short
feeble legs. Their beak is short, broad, and flat, tapering towards its
extremity, and although somewhat varied in its formation, is always
surrounded by a stiff, bristle-like growth; the gape is so unusually wide
as to constitute the most remarkable feature they all have in common.
The plumage is sometimes harsh and dusky, and sometimes soft, glossy,
and brilliantly coloured. The birds belonging to this order principally
frequent the warmest portions of our globe, and are rarely met with in
high northern latitudes, as the latter afford them but a very scanty
supply of the insects upon which they mainly subsist. Heat is essential
to the abundance of their favourite food, and it is for this reason
that such species as inhabit the temperate zones are compelled to quit
their native lands for sunnier climes as winter approaches. Some occupy
forests; others mountains, valleys, or open plains; and many, when about
to make their nests, seek the immediate vicinity of man. All the members
of this order are possessed of extraordinary powers of flight, and pass
the greater part of their lives in pursuing their tiny prey through the
realms of air. Upon the ground they move awkwardly and slowly, and are
usually scarcely more adroit in climbing among the branches of trees.
The sight of all these birds is excellent, but their other senses
appear to be only slightly developed. In temper they are social, brisk,
and restless, and exhibit much tenderness towards their young. Their
intelligence, however, is by no means great; indeed, some species are
unquestionably extremely deficient in this respect. So very various is
the formation of the nests, and the number and appearance of the eggs of
the different families into which this order is divisible, that we shall
not attempt to mention them here, but will describe them with the group
or species to which they belong.
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