434 BUBO MAXIMUS. 



2^^ ; fourth toe 1^^^, its claw 1^^^, The weight of this 

 individual, which was in good condition, was 7 lb. 4 oz. 



Habits. — According to authors, the Great Eagle- 

 owl occurs in various parts of the continent of Europe. 

 M. Temminck says it is very common in Russia, Ger- 

 many, and Switzerland, less so in France and England. 

 In the latter country it is indeed of extremely rare oc- 

 currence. Low considered it as a permanent resident 

 in Orkney, and the assertion has been verified by Dr 

 Neill ; but from the very few instances of its appearance 

 on the mainland of Britain that have been recorded, we 

 must conclude that it is merely an occasional visitant 

 there. 



The individual presented to me by my friend Mr 

 Audubon, and which I kept alive several weeks, was a 

 very beautiful and most interesting bird. I do not 

 marvel that the ancients should have selected this spe- 

 cies to consecrate it to the goddess of Wisdom ; for its 

 representative in my possession had a most imposing 

 appearance, and its conduct certainly did not tend to 

 diminish the respect which one felt towards it when 

 first introduced to its presence. As an emblem of pru- 

 dence and sagacity, however, I should prefer the raven, 

 which seems to me to be the most intelligent of all our 

 native birds. Various qualities are attributed to dif- 

 ferent birds by every practised observer the moment 

 he looks upon them. The cockatoo excites the idea of 

 a vain fop, the gannet of a booby, the peregrine falcon 

 of a ferocious plunderer, the sea-eagle of a powerful, 

 cruel, and rapacious despot, the robin and wren of 

 childhood and innocence. When you gaze upon the 



