By the Rev. A. C. Smith. 27 



much to be respected ; then how sagacious they are, and how much 

 they know : to be sure if you look at one in broad daylight, when 

 the sun dazzles and confounds him, he cuts but a sorry figui'e, but 

 so would a man, Were his powers of vision so keen and so sensitive ; 

 but observe him, when the shades of evening have fallen on the 

 earth, how cunning, how thoughtful, how active he seems now, 

 yet not restless or hurried in his movements, but deliberate and 

 calm. All day long he will sit in his snug dark retreat, dozing 

 away the hours of dazzling sunshine, to him so insupportable, 

 snoring and dreaming as owls only can do ; but no sooner has the 

 sun gone down and twilight begun, than out comes the owl from 

 its lurking place ; gliding along in silence ; hunting over the fields; 

 dropping on a mouse, which any vision less keen woiild fail to 

 discover ; bearing it off to its nest ; and returning again to its 

 hunting ground ; and thus ridding mankind of a vast number of 

 this most destructive of little four-footed vermin. Now to enable 

 the owls to effect this in the twilight, and even the dusk of night, 

 they are furnished with several attributes peculiarly adapted to 

 their requirements : thus their powers of sight and hearing are 

 remarkably acute, as I have before observed ; and in addition to 

 this, their plumage is so soft and downy, and their wing feathers 

 in particular so pliant, that in striking the air they offer the least 

 possible opposition, and move along noiselessly, with a slow gentle 

 and uniform motion ; in which respect they differ widely from the 

 flight of other birds, the flapping of whose wings may be heard, 

 often at a considerable distance. 



But though of such signal service to mankind, and though en- 

 joying such a reputation for wisdom, the poor owl is not looked 

 upon with a friendly eye ; on the contrary it is now, and always 

 has been regarded with superstitious feelings by the inhabitants of 

 this, as well as other countries : without doubt, its habits of seclusion 

 by day, its spectre-like and noiseless movements by night, and its 

 solemn appearance are the principal cause of this popular error: 

 then its frequent lurking place, the church tower ; its haunts, the 

 churchyard and the neighbouring meadows : its ghostly and silent 

 flittings ; its wild unearthly and dismal shriek, coming suddenly on 



