326 STRIGIN^. 



The eyes are extremely large, directed obliquely 

 forwards, so that an object is perceived with both ; the 

 upper eyelid is very larg-e. The nostrils are large or 

 of moderate size, oval or elliptical, in the fore edge of 

 the cere. The ear is very large, having a concha vary- 

 ing in extent, in some cases extending from over the 

 eye to beneath the lower jaw, and with its margins 

 fringed with feathers. 



The feet are in all the species of moderate length 

 or short ; the tarsi always covered with feathers, as 

 are the toes to near the claws, although sometimes the 

 feathers there are reduced to hairs, the barbs being 

 wanting. The outer or fourth toe is capable of being 

 turned backwards ; the first is shortest and admits of 

 much lateral motion, the fourth next in length, the se- 

 cond longest. They have a few scutella at the end, 

 and are tuberculate and papillate beneatli. The claws 

 are long, curved, tapering, extremely acute, and have 

 a great range of motion. 



The wings are rather long, or of moderate length, 

 broad, and generally more or less rounded. The pri- 

 mary quills are, as usual, ten ; the secondary thirteen 

 or fifteen. The tail is generally short, in no case very 

 long, even or but slightly rounded, and always of twelve 

 feathers, which are more or less curved. 



The plumage is remarkable for its extremely soft 

 texture. The eyes are surrounded by radiating fea- 

 thers, having their barbs loose, and forming two circu- 

 lar disks or masks. Behind these disks is a ruff of 

 narrow recurved feathers, in several rows, having their 

 barbs close towards their tips. This ruff in some spe- 

 cies completely surrounds the mask, while in others it 



