FISH OWLS 1933 



ledge or shelf of rock with but little if any attempt at a nest. Occasionally, how- 

 ever, a large nest of twigs is formed, which, in the absence of suitable rocks, may 

 be placed in a tree, while sometimes the eggs are deposited in a hole in the ground. 

 The young are hatched in about three weeks, and are able to fly in eight weeks 

 after birth, although they frequently remain in the nest for some time longer. This 

 owl breeds freely in captivity. 



The Virginian eagle owl is a somewhat smaller bird, distinguished 

 s by the head and neck being of the same hue as the blackish back 

 instead of yellowish and lighter. It ranges over the whole of North, and extends 

 into Central America, and is liable to great local variation in color. In cultivated 

 districts this owl inflicts much damage on poultry yards, killing all kinds of birds, 

 from turkeys down to young chickens, and frequently merely devouring the hearts 

 of its numerous victims. Where the primitive forests have been destroyed, the 

 owls breed in the deserted nests of eagles, hawks, or crows, but elsewhere nest in 

 hollow trees. Usually there are but two or three eggs, although occasionally four 

 or five; and so early in the year are these laid that in Nova Scotia and Newfound- 

 land they are not unfrequently found frozen in the nest. The Indian eagle owl, or 

 rock-horned owl (B. bengalensis] , may be taken as an example of the second group 

 of the genus, in which the covering of the feathers on the toes is more or less 

 scanty, the last joint and sometimes the whole toe being bare. This species attains 

 a length of twenty inches, and is confined to India. Its habits appear to be very 

 similar to those of the other species, the nesting season being from February to 

 April, and the eggs usually laid on a shelf of rock near water, although occasion- 

 ally in a hole in the ground. That the eagle owls are an old group is proved by the 

 occurrence of remains of extinct species in the I/ower Miocene Tertiary of France; 

 those of the existing European species occurring in the Pleistocene deposits of 

 Norfolk. The metatarsus may be distinguished from that of the snowy owl by its 

 longer and more slender form. 



The fish owls of the Oriental region and Africa form a group dis- 

 tinguished from all other members of the order by the under surface 

 of the toes being covered with a number of small spicules, thus presenting an ad- 

 mirable holding surface. In most cases the metatarsus is naked. These owls are 

 divided into two genera, one of which (Cetupa) is confined to Palestine, India, 

 Malayana, and China, and is characterized by the possession of large ear tufts; 

 while the second (Scotopelia) is African, and lacks those appendages. Of the Ori- 

 ental genus one of the best-known species is the Indian fish owl (C. ceylonensis} , 

 which inhabits Palestine, India, Ceylon, the countries on the east of the Bay of 

 Bengal and part of China. Is is a large bird, measuring twenty-five inches in 

 length, and is of a general tawny color above, with the individual feathers broadly 

 streaked with black down the middle. The quills are brown with pale bands; the 

 tail is also brown with pale fulvous bars; while the greater part of the under surface 

 is golden tawny, with black streaks down the middle of the breast feathers. The 

 feet are dark, and, as in all the other members of the genus, the eyes bright yellow. 

 This fish owl inhabits wooded districts near water, and is mainly nocturnal, 

 although Professor V. Ball writes that he has seen one flying in the daytime. 



