47 FROGMOUTHS These birds resemble small Nightjars and occur only near Sikkim and east of it and in the extreme south of India-Wynad and Travancore. The name a probably from a frog, for a bird, has already been noticed in the preceding article. 48 THE BARN OWL 1. The Barn Owl is pale grey-brown and rufous ochre above, has a white face and, white under-parts, spotted with brown. It is also known in English as the White or Screech Owl, looking "strangely white among the black trees". It is found all over India but not in forests. It haunts roofs of buildings, outhouses, wells and ruins. Its cry sa peculiar weird. shriek or screech, and when perched during the day it makes a snoring sound (T. Regan), and at night as well. Sansk. (one who makes a guttural or snoring sound) for an owl clearly refers to it and the name perhaps corresponds to in Hindi. Its other names in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil mean 'bad bird' corresponding to Sans. gfa, y or af in वाज ० संहिता (24.39) where it is placed with two other noisy birds, कुटरु and ateite. The Larger Owls have been looked upon all over the world as birds of bad omen and the Barn Owl is no exception. The age of भविष्यपुराण (मध्यमपवं 20.17) is clearly this Owl which is considered there to be an evil bird. The (white like the moon) Owl in the story of a Rat, Cat and Mangoose would also seem to be the Barn Owl as he is des- cribed there as the enemy of rats : "उलूकं चन्द्रकं नाम तीक्ष्णतुण्डं क्षपाचरम् ।” noisy. कुवि. महाभारत, XII 138.33. चन्द्रकोलूक would be yet another name synonymous with श्वेतोलूक. This Owl has a fleshy-white or fleshy-horny bill and the adnoun fers may belong to it if not to the Himalayan Wood-Owl with a fleshy-yellow bill. 2. The Grass Owl (14") also belongs to the present family and resem- bles the Barn Owl in the colour pattern of the body plumage, and if seen perched upon a tree it would pass for one. But its ways are very different and unlike the Barn Owl, which breeds in holes in buildings, wells, or trees, it always lays its eggs on the ground in fairly long grass and inhabits the long grassy areas of the Himalayan Terais, the adjoining plains, and in similar 1. Sometimes it is pure white below. 2. Ifafa is not the Barn-Owl it would be the common Owlet which too is very The name कुवि occurs in राजनिघण्टु and कुधि in कल्पद्रुकोश is a wrong reading of
