OWLS. 327 



feetly bare of feathers or bristles, and covei-ed with small irregular-shaped plates, as in 

 the tarsal covering of falcons. 



The genus Athene, in which the burrowing-owl was formerly placed, as now 

 framed includes but two species, one of which, the little owl of Euro])e, Atliene noctita, 

 is the bird which among tlie Greeks was sacred to I'allas Athene, and is so often 

 represented with the Goddess of Wisdom on their coins and sculptures ; " but," says 

 Newton, " those who know the grotesque actions and ludicrous expression of this 

 veritable buffoon of birds can never cease to wonder at its having been seriously 

 selected as the symbol of learning, and can hardly divest tliemselves of the suspicion 

 that the choice must have been made in the sjjirit of sarcasm." For many of the 

 following notes on this species we are indebted to the excellent account of it given in 

 Dresser's " Birds of Europe." 



It is from eight to nine inches in length, or a trifle smaller than the common 

 mottled-owl of the United States. Its color above is brown with white markings, — 

 stripes on the head, spots on the back, wing-coverts, etc., and bars on the wings and 

 tail. 



Below, it is buffy white, with dark-brown stripes or longitudinal dashes. Tlirough 

 central and soutliern Euro]io it is a con\mon and well-known owl, but rarely reaches 

 England or Sweden, though found regularly in Denmark. 



Its favorite haunts are in the neighborhood of towns, though it is frequently met 

 with in the country, and in Holland is usually found in the orchards close to farm- 

 houses. In such places it usually nests in the hollow of a tree, laying from three to 

 five eggs without any si<j;n of a nest, 1)ut ordinarily it prefers deserted buildings, 

 church-towers, ruins, chinks of rocky walls, or the crevices of bushy cliffs. According 

 to Mr. Keulemans, these little owls have a strong aversion to water. He has ke])t 

 them in a cage for more than a year without giving them any, while " it is a curious 

 fact than when they get wet, either by heav}' rain or by being placed in a damp s])ot, 

 they have fits and remain insensible for hours, and .sometimes it causes their death." 

 In Italy it is known as the ' civetta,' and Mr. Charles Waterton says of it: "This 

 diminutive rover of the night is much jirized by the gardeners of Italy for its uncom- 

 mon ability in destroying insects, snails, slugs, reptiles, and mice. There is scarcely 

 an out-house in the gardens and vineyards of that country which is not tenanted by 

 the civetta. 



"It is often brought uj) tame from tlie nest, and in the mon'th of September is sold 

 for a dollar to sjiortsmen, wlio take it with them in their excursions througli the 

 country to look for larks and other small birds. Perclied on the top of a pole it 

 attracts their notice, and draws tlu in within the fatal r.ange of gunshot by its most 

 singular gestures; for, staii<ling bolt upright, it curtsies incessantly, with its head 

 somewhat inclined forwards, while it keei]S its eyes fixed on the ai)proaching object. 

 This odd movement is peculiar to the civetta alone ; by it the birds of the neighbor- 

 hood are decoyed to their destruction ; hence its value to the ranging sportsman. 



"Often and anon, as the inhabitants of IJome pass throiigh tlie bird-market at tlie 

 Pantheon, they stop and look and laugh at this i>retty little cai)tivc owl whilst it is 

 performing its ridiculous gesticulations." Like many other owls which jirefer the dusk 

 for hunting, it is, nevertheless, often abroad in the daytime, especially when it has 

 young to feed. It would seem to sutfir less from the glare of the sun than from the 

 persecutions of small birds which often follow it about in large nundtcrs, luuassiiig it 

 continually from every side. In Germany, according to Naumann, it has a variety of 



