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CHAPTER VIII. 



Owls. Superstitions respecting. Short-Eared. The Great 

 Snowy Owl. White Owl. Mode of Feeding. Attachment to 

 Young. Used in Bird-catching. Burrowing Owl. Dentiros- 

 tral. Notch-billed Birds. Shrikes. Mode of Feeding. Nests 

 of. Used in taking Falcons. Puff-backed Shrike. Thrush 

 Genus. Instinctive Habits in Feeding. Anecdote. Thrush 

 and Young Cuckoo. Fly-catchers. Cotinga. Tanagers. 

 Beauty of. Serratirostral, or Serrated Beaks. Hornbills. 

 Plenirostral. Strong-Billed. Grackles. Paradise Birds. 



THERE is still another family to be classed amongst the 

 rapacious birds, and forming a natural link in the chain 

 after Eagles and Falcons, namely, Owls. Everybody 

 who has once examined them must have been struck 

 with the leading points 

 of resemblance. An 

 Owl's bill is almost 

 like a Hawk's, short, 

 hooked, and like its 

 claws, evidently in- 

 tended for the pur- 

 pose of seizing and 

 tearing to pieces its 

 favourite food. An 

 Owl's eye, too, is 

 bright and clear, like a 

 Hawk's, but, by being 

 larger and more full, 

 is better calculated for 

 the twilight or mid- Owl. 



night hours, preferred 



for prowling abroad in quest of prey. The chief pecu- 

 liarities of the tribe consist in the advantages afforded 

 them by nature respecting their mode of flight, and sense 

 of seeing and hearing. It is evident that, in order to 



