Round the Countryside
'Owls'
C. C. CADDUM
Today C. C. Gaddum is to discuss that interesting bird the owl, and he will explain its characteristics-its soft feathers that make for noiseless flight, its alert sight and hearing, its partiality for the night, its manner of bolting its food and casting up the pellets. He will describe the two commonest owls to be found in Britain : the brown or tawny or wood owl that will perch in a tree outside your window and wake you in the dead of night with its eerie hoot; the barn or white or screech owl, so called because it roosts in barns or old buildings, is white underneath, and occasionally emits a weird loud scream as it glides through the dusk.
Finally, he will say something of the much maligned little owl, introduced into Britain rather less than a century ago, yet surprisingly common today.
Teachers will find it helpful to have illustrations of these three kinds of owls to show their class.