AVES 



593 



Strigifonnes (Owls). — These are large birds of prey with large 

 eyes, soft feathers, strong hooked beaks, and vicious claws. Their 

 food consists of mice, rats, insects, small reptiles, occasionally small 

 birds, and snails. The group, as a whole, is beneficial to man. The 

 great horned owl, Bubo virgmianus, the screech owl, Otus asio, the 

 burrowing owl, Speotyto cunicularia hypogaea, the barred or hoot owl, 

 Strix varia, and the barn owl (monkey-faced), Strix pratincola, are 

 all well known. 



Fig. 314. — Kingfisher, Ceryle alcyon. (From Metcalf, Textbook of Economic 

 Zoology, published by Lea and Febiger.) 



Caprimiilgiformes (Goatsuckers). — The nighthawk and the whip- 

 poorwill are the best known representatives. They are chiefly noc- 

 turnal, flying during the evening and morning hours and catching 

 insects as they fly. They are medium-sized birds with a large gape 

 and weak bill. They excel in their ability to dodge while flying. 

 No nest is built ; the eggs are laid in almost any convenient place. 



Micropodifonnes (Hummingbirds and Swifts). — The former are 

 small, swiftly flying, long-billed birds which are confined to the 

 Americas and are more abunda,nt in the tropics. The feathers of the 

 male are often brightly colored, and the tail in both sexes is long, 

 slender, and usually forked. Their wings beat the most rapidly of 



