NOCTURNAL BIRDS OF PREY, OR OWLS. Ill 



the parents, hovering round the intruder, .and uttering a 

 sort of uncouth syllable, like geg geg gag, or ge ge ne 

 ge ge, seem full of afright and anxiety. The Crows, 

 however, are their greatest enemies, and they often suc- 

 ceed in demolishing their nests. 



In the old male the upper parts are of a bluish grey. The quill- 

 feathers are white at their origin, and black the rest of their length; 

 the internal part of the base of the wings, rump, belly, sides, thighs, 

 abdomen, and beneath the tail is white and without spots. Upper 

 part of the tail of a cinereous grey, with the ends of the feathers 

 whitish. Iris and feet yellow. The length 20 to 21 inches. — The 

 old female is dirty brown above, with the feathers of the head, neck, 

 and upper part of the back, bordered with rusty. Beneath rusty- 

 yellow, with large longitudinal brown spots. The quills banded 

 exteriorly with dark brown and black, but interiorly with white and 

 black. Rump white, with rusty spots. The 2 middle tail feathers 

 banded with blackish, and very dark grey ; the lateral feathers 

 banded with yellowish red, and blackish. The length 1 or 2 inches 

 greater than in the male — The young very similar to the adult 

 female. • 



NOCTURNAL BIRDS OF PREY, or OWLS. 



These, in the order of nature, appear to occupy among 

 the birds, the same situation as the Feline tribe among 

 the mammalia. Like cats, which they externally resem- 

 ble in the face, many of them are only able to hunt their 

 prey in the evening or morning twilight, or aided by the 

 uncertain light of the moon. There are a few of the 

 species who are qualified to endure the light of day, 

 pursuing their prey on the wing, or laying wait for it in 

 the thickest parts of the forest ; these species may be 

 known by the absence of the ear-like tufts of feathers on 

 their heads, and by the emarginated tail, which, as in 

 most of the Hawks, extends beyond the extremity of the 



