THE EAGLE OWL. 45 



assailed by superior strength it makes a vigorous defence. 

 Its sharp talons inflict wounds as severe as those of the 

 fox or wild cat, meeting in the flesh of any animal on 

 which it fastens, and endowed with such power of muscular 

 contraction as to pierce the leathern gaiters, and even the 

 shoes of the hunters. When wounded and attacked by 

 dogs, it turns itself on its back, extends its open talons, 

 and executes a movement with its beak which serves to 

 guard the whole body. These strange manoeuvres, accom- 

 panied as they are by rolling of the eyes, and a hissing 

 noise like the exaggerated purr of a cat, are so alarming, 

 that the most courageous dog hesitates before making his 

 first onset, and rarely attempts a second. The note of 

 the Eagle-Owl is described as being most discordant and 

 hideous ; by some being compared to the bark of a dog, by 

 others to the neigh of a horse, and by others again to an 

 agonized human shriek ; consequently, it figures in many 

 of the legends connected with the Hartz mountains, where 

 it is of frequent occurrence. In Great Britain it has been 

 rarely met with. It seems to prefer the mountain forests 

 of the North, where it builds its nest among rocks, ruins, 

 or stumps of trees, and lays two or three eggs. 



SCOPS-EAEED OWL, 



SCOPS ALDKOVANDI. 



Bill black ; iris yellow ; egrets (about three-quarters of an inch long) and head 

 brown, minutely spotted with black ; upper parts, reddish brown mottled with 

 black and dark brown : under parts lighter. Wings equalling the tail in length. 

 Length, seven to eight inches ; Female somewhat larger. Eggs white. 



A BEAUTIFULLY marked little bird, scarcely bigger than a 

 Thrush, which, though abundant in many parts of the 

 continent of Europe, rarely pays us a visit. It is a bird 

 of passage, arriving in France in May, and taking its de- 

 parture in September. It builds its nest in the trunks of 

 trees, and hides by day among the foliage of the poplars, 



