312 ZOOLOGY. 



in the pine or cedar lands, and may immediately be recognised by its 

 entirely black eyes and head without horns or ear tufts. It usually preys 

 upon small mammalia and birds, but it is said to resort occasionally to 

 fishes and reptiles. It breeds in the forests of all the Northern States, 

 making a nest in the forks of a large tree, and like some other owls lays 

 eggs which are perfectly spherical. 



Another species, the great grey owl {S. cinereum), is a rare visitor in the 

 United States, though common in the north. It is one of the largest of 

 owls, with plumage of an almost uniform deep grey. The screech owl of 

 Europe (<S\ aluco) belongs here. It is a common species, and appears to be 

 similar in its habits and history to our barred owl. Many other species 

 are found in all parts of the world. 



Suh-fam. 2. Buho7iifice, or Horned Owls. Head large, broad, and furnished 

 with two conspicuous tufts of feathers capable of being erected (usually 

 called ears). Facial disk not perfect ; ears moderate ; bill short, strong, 

 and curved ; legs and feet robust, with the claws very strong and sharp. 

 Size various, frequently large. Tarsi densely feathered. 



The Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus), which is the largest species 

 common in the United States, is a good illustration of this sub-family. 

 Though still quite common in Western America, it has become almost 

 extinct in the more densely populated districts of the States upon the 

 Atlantic seaboard. It is, however, sufficiently well known for its depreda- 

 tions upon the poultry of the housewife, and for its peculiar and sonorous 

 notes in almost all parts of North America. Wilson most admirably 

 describes this bird in the first volume of his incomparable Ornithology. 

 " This noted and formidable owl," he says, '■ is found in almost every 

 quarter of the United States. His favorite residence, however, is in the 

 dark solitudes of deep swamps, covered with a growth of gigantic timber, 

 and here, as soon as evening draws on and mankind retire to rest, he sends 

 forth such sounds as seem scarcely to belong to this world, startling the 

 solitary pilgrim as he slumbers by his forest fire, 



'Making niglit hideous.' 



Along the mountainous shores of the Ohio, and amidst the deep forests 

 of Indiana, alone, and reposing in the woods, this ghostly watchman has 

 frequently warned me of the approach of morning, and amused me with his 

 singular exclamations, sometimes sweeping down and around my fire, 

 uttering a loud and sudden ' Waugh, O ! Waugh, O !' sufficient to have 

 alarmed a whole garrison. He has other nocturnal solos no less melodious, 

 one of which very strikingly resembles the half-suppressed screams of a 

 person suffocating or throttled, and cannot fail of being exceedingly 

 entertaining to a lonely benighted traveller, in the midst of an Indian 

 wilderness. 



" The great horned owl is not migratory, but remains with us the whole 

 year. During the day he slumbers in the thick evergreens of deep swamps. 

 or seeks shelter in large hollow trees. He is rarely seen abroad by day, 

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