nation I found to be teals. I did not know till
then that teals ever bred in the south of England, and was much pleased
with the discovery: this I look upon as a great stroke in natural
history.

We have had, ever since I can remember, a pair of white owls that
constantly breed under the eaves of this church. As I have paid good
attention to the manner of life of these birds during their season of
breeding, which lasts the summer through, the following remarks may not
perhaps be unacceptable:--About an hour before sunset (for then the mice
begin to run) they sally forth in quest of prey, and hunt all round the
hedges of meadows and small enclosures for them, which seem to be their
only food. In this irregular country we can stand on an eminence and see
them beat the fields over like a setting-dog, and often drop down in the
grass or corn. I have minuted these birds with my watch for an hour
together, and have found that they return to their nest, the one or the
other of them, about once in five minutes; reflecting at the same time on
the adroitness that every animal is possessed of as far as regards the
well-being of itself and offspring. But a piece of address, which they
show when they return loaded, should not, I think, be passed over in
silence. As they take their prey with their claws, so they carry it in
their claws to their nest; but, as the feet are necessary in their ascent
under the tiles, they constantly perch first on the roof of the chancel,
and shift the mouse from their claws to their bill, that their feet may
be at liberty to take hold of the plate on the wall as they are rising
under the eaves.

White owls seem not (but in this I am not positive) to hoot at all; all
that clamorous hooting appears to me to come from the wood kinds. The
white owl does indeed snore and hiss in a tremendous manner; and these
menaces well answer the intention of intimidating; for I have known a
whole village up in arms on such an occasion, imagining the churchyard to
be full of goblins and spectres. White owls also often scream horribly
as they fly along; from this screaming probably arose the common people's
imaginary species of screech-owl, which they superstitiously think
attends the windows of dying persons. The plumage of the remiges of the
wings of every species of owl that I have yet examined is remarkably soft
and pliant. Perhaps it may be necessary that the wings of these birds
should not make much resist