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might quickly catch the eye of an otherwise unwarned prey, but 
a chaste and harmonious blending of the more sombre hues, 
mixing as a whole into a neutral tint, but showing on close 
inspection the most minute and delicate of nature’s pencillings. 
The feet are admirably adapted for grasping. In their normal 
position, they are the same as in other birds, namely three claws in 
front and one behind ; but the Owl has the power of turning the 
outer claw back parallel with the hinder claw, thus making the 
foot with two claws in front and two behind, the same as in the 
Scansores or Woodpeckers. The foot can thus be used for 
scrambling in the interior of chimneys, where these birds are 
often found, or up the bark and hollows of trees. 
The Barn Owl is generally considered to be the typical 
example of the tribe, as it exhibits in great perfection the 
different characteristics of the Owls, namely, the thick coat of 
downy plumage, the peculiar disc round the eyes, the large eye- 
balls, and the heavily feathered legs and toes. 
There are ten species of Owls known in the British Isles, 
some of which are rare visitors. They are— 
The White Barn or Screech Owl, 
The Brown or Tawny Owl, 
The Little Owl, 
Tengmalm’s Owl, 
The Hawk or Canada Owl, 
The Snowy Owl, 
The Great Horned or Eagle Owl, 
The Short-eared or Woodcock Owl, 
The Long-eared Owl, and 
The Scops-eared Owl. 
The White or Barn Owl is dispersed more or less generally all 
over the earth; it is, however, least numerous in the colder 
regions. Northward, it occurs so far as Denmark, Its range 
southward extends to the Cape of Good Hope, eastward to India 
and New Holland, and westward to the United States. The 
