141 



two out of three brought back after the Benin 

 Expedition, and are the only specimens in 

 Europe. One was destined for St. Petersburg, 

 but Dan managed somehow to stop it on the 

 way, and change its course to Mottisfont. 

 Tiieir hchen-coloured grey plumage is set off 

 by great black eyes and heavy eye-lids of 

 what looks like russet leather, and gives them 

 an air of extraordinary intelligence. They are 

 perfectly tame and fearless, not moving even 

 when strangers touch their cage. They only 

 eat at night. There are Burrowing owls, which 

 constantly make new holes and breed every 

 year. The set of Eagle-owls, of which the 

 Benin owls are the African representatives, is 

 made up by a splendid pair of European eagle- 

 owls, taken from a nest on the rocks near 

 Tromso, with cairn gorm coloured eyes; and 

 exquisitely marked Virginian eagle-owls ; the 

 plumage of these is all coloured horizontally, 

 with dark grey on silver ground, and is exactly 

 like the bark of the silver birch. 



The Brazilian wood-owl, as shown in the 

 slight water-colour sketch, was a very comical 

 good-tempered bird. He loved to have his 

 head scratched, and directly his master 

 approached his cage, would ruftle up his 

 feathers and stretch out his neck to be 



