The Mogul and Kalmuc Tartars give to the white owl credit for preserving Jengis Khan, the founder of their empire; and they pay it, on that account, almost divine honors. The prince, with a small army, happened to be surprised and put to flight by his enemies. Forced to seek concealment in a coppice, a white owl settled on the bush under which he was hidden. At the sight of this bird, the prince's pursuers never thought of searching the spot, thinking it impossible that such a bird would perch where any human being was concealed. Jengis escaped, and ever after his countrymen held the white owl sacred, and every one wore a plume of its feathers on his head. The Kalmucs continue the custom to this day, at all their great festivals; and some tribes have an idol in the form of an owl, to which they fasten the real legs of this bird.