SCREECH-OWL. 387 



In our contemptible self-sufficiency, we are ever aiming 

 at disposing the creations which have emanated from 

 the infinite intellect, according to rules resulting from 

 our own most imperfect comprehension of them. " Deus 

 creavit, Linnseus disposuit," was the blasphemous and 

 absurd inscription of a medal designed to commemorate 

 the exploits of an ignorant creature, who, however 

 much penetration and sagacity he may have shewn, as- 

 suredly never obtained more than a most dim and par- 

 tial glimpse of the relations by which the works of God 

 are connected. 



The generic character given above is taken from the 

 different varieties of the common screech-owl found in 

 North America, Europe, Asia, and New Holland ; al- 

 though, what refers to the digestive canal, has been 

 taken exclusively from that of specimens obtained in 

 Scotland. 



