88 THE WORLD'S BIRDS. 



Eagle -Owls are seriously destructive to game and 

 poultry. A few are eaten locally. 



Captivity. — They bear captivity excellently, and 

 often breed in that condition ; the great Eagle - 

 Owl {Bubo maximus) has been thus bred for several 

 generations. 



Distribution and Important Species. — There are 

 about three hundred species of Owls, and they are 

 found all over the world. Some individual species, 

 as the Barn-Owl {Strix flammea) and the Short-eared 

 Owl {Asio brachyotus) are also almost world-wide 

 in distribution ; the latter is also migratory — a 

 rare habit in the family. Besides the Barn-Owl, 

 the Brown Owl [Syrnium aluco) is common in Britain 

 and Europe generally. The Little Owl {Athene 

 nodua), a small species about as big as a black- 

 bird, spotted brown-and-white, is a very familiar 

 Continental form, now locally common in England 

 by introduction ; in India the very similar A. brama, 

 barred instead of streaked below, replaces it. The 

 Barn -Owl is often called Screech-Owl, but the 

 Screech-Owl of North America is a small " horned " 

 species {Scops asio). An Eagle-Owl {Bubo vir- 

 ginianus) is also a well-known American species ; 

 and the commonest Owl at the Cape {Bubo 

 maculosus) also belongs to the Eagle-Owl group. 

 The Burrowing Owl (Speotyto cunicularia) inhabits 

 the plain districts of America ; it is much like 

 the Little Owl of the Old World, but with longer 

 legs. 



Parrots {PsiUactdce). 



Diagnosis. — Pair-toed birds with a very short, strongly- 

 hooked beak, with movable upper jaw. 



Size. — From less than a tit to that of an ordinary fowl, 

 approximately. 



