160 OWLS. 



Owls), they fix their large round eyes intently at the 

 object of their alarm. As a specimen of these Eared 

 Owls we insert a figure representing the head of the 

 largest of the family, the Long-eared Owl. 



Eye and Bill of Owl. . Head of Long-eared Owl. 



Their note is a singular snapping noise, not issuing 

 from the throat, but occasioned entirely by a smart 

 clicking of the bill ; so rapid, indeed, is this motion, that 

 it is with difficulty the opening or shutting of the man- 

 dibles can be observed. As it is a bird of courage, the 

 sportsman must be cautious how he attempts to handle 

 it, for it has been known to spring up in the fiercest 

 manner, and offer a most desperate resistance. 



There are upwards of sixty species of Owls, widely 

 spread over almost every part of the known world : of 

 these, we may count not fewer than eight as more or 

 less frequenting this country ; of which by far the most 

 beautiful is the Great Snowy Owl (Stria nyctea), which 

 may fairly, from its size and noble appearance, be called 

 the Golden Eagle, or very king of Owls. It is a rare 

 visitant, indeed, in England, chiefly confining itself to 

 the wildest and most desolate regions of the north, 

 where, amidst almost perpetual snows, it passes its soli- 

 tary life. When in perfection, its plumage is of the 

 most dazzling snowy white, with a few darker spots 

 chiefly about the head. Its thick feathery coating is 

 most admirably adapted for the countries in which Na- 

 ture has appointed it to live. 



