Screech Owl

T.H. White made a vigorous translation of a twelfthcentury one, which included the mythic phoenix and the singing sirens amongst the birds, along with an unidentified bird called the Caladrius, which was completely white without a speck of black. Its dung, we are told, is good for eye-trouble, and if it turns its back on a sick man it is an infallible sign that he will die. White's best bird list is one of names invented in mimicry of the birds' voices: He points out that, "Why did the owl 'owl is an accurate piece of etymology. Its name in most languages is of echoic origin."

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