52 



STRIGIDiE. 



Barn Owl can scarcely be said to cleave the air ; rather, 

 it fans its way onwards with its down-fringed wings, and 

 the air, thus softly treated, quietly yields to the gentle 

 force, and retires without murmur to allow it a passage. 

 Kot without meaning is this silence preserved. The nimble 

 little animals that constitute the chase, are quick-sighted 

 and sharp of hearing, but the pursuer gives no notice of 



THE BARN OWL. 



his approach, and they know not their doom till they feel 

 the inevitable talons in their sides. The victim secured, 

 silence is no longer necessary. The successful hunter lifts 

 up his voice in a sound of triumph, repairs to the nearest 

 tree to regale himself on his prize, and, for a few minutes— 

 that is, until the chase is resumed — utters his melodious 

 Tciaw again and again. In the morning, the Owl will 



