Farmers are in error when they accuse the Barn Owl of destroying their Pigeons' eggs. The real culprits are the rats. When an Owl makes its appearance in the vicinity of a dovecot, the proper course of conduct is to give it a kind reception and to protect it, for its only object in coming is to obtain shelter for a time, and, during its stay, to destroy rats or mice, the real scourges of the pigeon-house.
When the Barn Owl finds a deficiency of food it has recourse to fishing. It may then be seen diving perpendicularly on to the water to capture fish which are floating upon the surface.
The Chinese and Tartars pay special reverence to the Owl, in memory of a fact which well deserves to be recorded. Gengis Khan, the founder of their empire, having been put to flight by his enemies, was one day compelled to take refuge in a wood, and an Owl which came and perched in the thicket in which he had hidden himself was the sole cause of his escaping the pursuit of his foes; for those who were searching for him very naturally omitted to explore the bushes in which he was concealed, thinking that it was impossible that a covert should at the same time shelter both an Owl and a man. Thus, thanks to the intervention of the bird, Gengis Khan was saved from his foes. In memory of this event the Chinese were in the habit of wearing on their heads an Owl's feather. Certain tribes of the Calmucs have an idol representing an Owl.
Fig. 278.—The Canada or Hawk Owl (Surnia funerea, Yarrell).
The Canada Owl ([Fig. 278]) is common in North America, and especially in Canada. It appears casually in the North of Europe, in Sweden and Norway. Its plumage is of a greyish-brown colour. It feeds on hares, rabbits, rats, mice, reptiles, and birds; it is about fifteen inches high. Audubon often had an opportunity of examining it.
"Its cry," says he, "is a waah, waahha, which one is tempted to compare with the affected laugh of a votary of fashion. Often in my distant excursions, when encamped under the trees, and roasting a slice of venison or a squirrel by means of a wooden spit, I have been greeted with the laughter of this nocturnal disturber. It stopped at a few paces from me, exposing its whole body to the gleam of my fire, and looking at me in such an odd way, that had I not feared to make a fool of myself in my own eyes, I should have politely invited him to come and partake of my supper. This bird visits Louisiana, and is met with in all the most isolated woods even in open day. If it appears likely to rain, it laughs louder than ever; its waah, waahha, penetrates into the most remote recesses of the woods, and its comrades answer it in strange and discordant tones: one might almost think that the Owl nation was celebrating some extraordinary fête."
Audubon adds that when you approach one of these birds it thoroughly scrutinises you, assuming at the same time the most grotesque attitudes. If any one fires at it and misses, it flies away, but stops at a little distance and utters its mocking cry.
The name Hawk Owls has been given to this genus, as it serves as a transition from the Nocturnal to the Diurnal birds of prey. In fact, although, by their general shape and physical conformation, they evidently belong to the former, they are also connected with the latter by their habits and mode of hunting, which are very like those of the Sparrow-hawk; hence their name. They are easily recognised by their long and tapering tail, and by their free and bold gait. They form a very characteristic group, and the species, which are four in number, present but little diversity.
The White Owl (Surnia nictea), the Strix nictea of Foster, can be tamed; but it must not be closely confined. It requires both air and space to move about at will. Under these conditions it constitutes a useful auxiliary to the farmer, and will advantageously take the place of several cats. But if it is kept in a cage it refuses food, and dies after a few days' captivity.