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skims along the marshes. The note of this bird is said sometimes 
to resemble the cry of a person in danger, but ordinarily it seems 
to resemble that of the cuckoo, but is shorter and quicker, 
They also hiss and make a snapping noise with their bills. 
We now arrive at the second group of Owls, which are remark- 
able for two. tufts of feathers which rise from the head, and 
occupy the same relative position as the ears of qaudrupeds,, 
These “ears,” as they are called, have, however, nothing to do 
with the organs of hearing, but are simply tufts of feathers, 
which can be raised and depressed at the will of the bird. At- 
present their use is unknown. 
The Great-eared, or Eagle Owl, although seemingly to exceed 
the Golden Eagle in dimensions, is in reality a very much smaller 
bird, owing its apparent magnitude to its feathers, and not to 
its body. In weight it hardly exceeds one quarter of that of the 
Eagle, but in power of muscle it is little inferior to the royal 
bird itself. Indeed Mr. Nilsson states that it not unfrequently 
engages iu combat with the Eagle, and that it often comes off 
victorious. The stronghold of this fine bird is the North of 
Europe. It inhabits Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Lapland, 
Germany and Switzerland, It also occurs in China, and other 
parts of Asia. In Yorkshire one was shot in March, 1845; 
another near Bradford, in 1821 ; another was caught in a wood 
near Harrogate; one in Lincolnshire; others have been met 
with in Kent, Sussex, Devonshire, Suffolk, Durham, Derbyshire, 
and one at Hampstead; but it is a very rare bird in England. 
It inhabits the depths of forests or wooded precipices during 
the day, hunting in the twilight. The general colour of the 
Eagle Owl is brown, mingled with a yellow tinge, and covered on 
the upper surface with bars, dashes and streaks of blackish brown. 
The facial disc is pale brown, decorated with many small spots of 
black. The long claws are black, and the beak is also nearly 
black. The eyes are of a bright radiant orange, and have a very 
fierce appearance when the bird looks the spectator in the face, 
