OF NEW ENGLAND. 327 



for their ludicrous or doleful cries, and for their hooting, so 

 ill-boding to the superstitious. 



§ 26. There are many things which cannot be defined except 

 in their t3'pical states, and, in the classification of birds, the 

 typical species often characterize a group by certain features, 

 which evidently allied species may possess only in part. 

 Thus the oivls may be defined as " nocturnal birds of pre}-," 

 though some kinds hunt in daylight like the hawks. All our 

 Striyklce, however, possess the following structural features 

 (besides tliose which characterize all Eajotores) : head large, 

 and capable of being turned in every direction without any 

 movement of the body ; e3'es looking more or less directly 

 forward ; ear-feathers often forming noticeable tufts or "horns ;" 

 nostrils concealed ; tarsi feathered ; general plumage very soft 

 and thick. The colors are sober and much variegated, but alike 

 in both sexes. The female is generally larger than the male. 



The owls fly silently. Eichard Hill, Esq., in Gosse's "Birds 

 of Jamaica," says : " They search for their pre}', as if they 

 were pursuing it with the vigilance of the hound. They skim 

 along the surface of the earth, glide among trees, explore ave- 

 nues, sweep round, rise and fall, wheel short, and dart down, 

 but never sail in circles. Their wide staring eyes are placed 

 in what ma^' be called their face, being right forward in front, 

 and" have scarcely any field of vision laterally. They there- 

 fore hunt with a forward and downward gaze, like dogs over a 

 field. The globe of the eye of these nocturnal rcq-jtores, being 

 immovably fixed in the socket by a strong elastic cartilaginous 

 case, in the form of a truncated cone, they have to turn their 

 heads to view objects out of the path of flight, and their neck 

 is so adapted for this exertion, that they can with ease turn 

 round the head in almost a complete circle, without moving the 

 body." 



Some owls lay their eggs on the ground or in the hollows of 

 trees, but most kinds build a rude nest of sticks, or select an 

 old nest of a like nature. Their eggs are o-G, subspherical, 

 white or whitish, and usually without a very sm.ooth shell. 

 Their peculiar notes, or hootings, are elsewhere noticed. 



