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to the neglect of Natural History. This induced me to select 
some subject in Natural History for my paper this afternoon, 
and I purpose to say something about that very interesting 
family of birds—the Owls. 
To begin with the word Owl is peculiar, and it is difficult to 
trace its origin. It does not correspond in any way with the 
name given to this family either in Greek, Latin, German, 
French, Welsh or any other language, and seems to be a corruption 
of the word “howl,” in allusion to the peculiar cries made by 
these birds. 
Owls have particularly attracted the attention of writers ; they 
are frequently mentioned in the Bible, and poets and authors of 
all ages have written about them. If I were to commence to 
quote I should take up too much of your time, so I shall leave that 
alone and stick closely to my subject. 
It is a common remark that the Owl may be considered as a 
kind of nocturnal Hawk, differing, as Linneus has observed, 
from these birds in the same manner as Moths differ from 
Butterflies, the one being chiefly noctural, the other diurnal. 
They are distinguished by having a large head, great projecting 
eyes directed forwards, and surrounded with a disc or circle of 
loose and delicate feathers covering the base of the beak and the 
opening of the ears; a strong hooked bill, curved claws, and a 
downy plumage, generally spotted or barred with different shades 
of brown and yellow. 
Unable to bear the bright light of the sun, the Owl retires 
to some lonely retreat where it passes the day in silence and 
obscurity, but at the approach of evening, when all nature is 
desirous of repose, and the smaller animals, which are its 
principal food, are seeking their nestling-places, the Owl comes 
forth in search of prey. 
The Owls are usually arranged into two principal groups ; in 
one of which all the species exhibit two tufts of feathers, which 
have been called horns, ears or egrets, but which have nothing to 
