548 



REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



across. Its eyes are large and fixed, with black pupils surrounded 

 with yellow. ' It bears light with less inconvenience than the other 

 nocturnal birds, and therefore goes out sooner in the evening and 

 returns home later in the morning. This bird makes its home among 

 the clefts of rocks on mountain sides, rarely leaving elevated ground 



Fig. 254. Great Owl. 



to descend into the plain, even when hunting. Its cry, httibou, 

 houJwu, bouhou, ouhou, re-echoing in the silence of night, is a source 

 of terror to the rest of the feathered creation. It feeds also upon 

 hares, rabbits, moles, rats, and mice. When rearing its young, which 

 are very voracious, it even devours toads, frogs, and small reptiles. 



