^6 Allen's naturalist's library. 



Range outside the Britisli Islands.— A well-known inhabitant of 

 the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon, ranging westwards through 

 Baluchistan to Persia, and even to Asia Minor. 



Haljits.— Similar to those of Coracias garnihcs. 



THE OWLS. ORDER STRIGES. 



The Owls have generally been considered to be Birds of 

 Prey, and to form a part of the Order Accipitrifortnes^ 

 which embraces all the Vultures, Hawks, and Ospreys. The 

 Owls, however, possess so many peculiar characteristics, that 

 by many modern zoologists they are considered to be very dis- 

 tinct from Hawks, and there is a good deal to be said as to 

 their separation from that group of birds, but I cannot admit 

 the wide divorce which Dr. Gadow seeks to introduce between 

 the Accipitres and the Striges. According to the paper pub- 

 lished by the last-named gentleman (in the '' Proceedings " 

 of the Zoological Society for 1892, pp. 229-256) on the "Classi- 

 fication of Birds," the Owls come under his Order Coraciiformes^ 

 following the Parrots {Fsiltaci)^ but also included in the same 

 Order as the Swifts, Trogons, and the bulk of Picarian Birds. 

 That the Parrots should come between the Picarians and the 

 Owls seems to be a very feasible proposition, for there are 

 many Parrots which have Owl-like propensities, and even a 

 Strigine appearance ; but, when all things are considered, the 

 Owls must be reckoned more Birds of Prey than anything else, 

 and even Dr. Gadow has to admit that the bill and feet in his 

 Sub-order Stn'ges are " raptorial " and nothing else, even if his 

 other characters are more or less Picarian. 



It must also be remembered that the Owls are related to the 

 Accipitres through the Pandioiies^ i.e., the Ospreys, or Fishing- 

 Eagles, which, like the Owls, have the fourth toe reversible, 

 while the proportions of the tibio-tarsus and the tarso-meta- 

 tarsal bones are exactly the same as those of the Owls. Among 

 the latter, also, there are several species of Fishing-Owls which 

 have bare feet, and the soles covered with spicules like the 

 Ospreys. However much, therefore, we may regard the Owls 



