158 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



The Order Sfrigifonncs, or Owls, as we know these birds 

 to-day, forms a group very homogeneous, both in structure and 

 appearance, and there are few people who can not name an owl 

 on sight. They number over two hundred species, or if we include 

 geographical races and sub-species, the total is not far from three 

 hundred and twent}'-five different forms. They vary in length 

 from five inches to over two feet, and in character from the tiny, 

 insect-eaters to the fierce eagle and horned owls. Their diet em- 

 braces almost all forms of terrestrial life, from insects, worms, and 

 snails to fish, frogs, lizards, birds, bats, moles, mice, and even 

 rabbits, large game birds and hawks. 



In one of the most recent classifications, owls are divided into 

 two very unequal Families : 



I. Sfrigidae, with a single genus, containing the Barn Owl. and 

 its twenty or twenty-five geographical species and races. 



II. Buhonidae, with thirty genera, including all the remaining 

 species of owls. 



Owls range over the whole globe, extending far into the polar 

 regions and even to the most isolated oceanic islands. 



OWLS AND MANKIND. 



The word owl has its counterpart in many languages ; in Anglo- 

 Saxon, Ulc; in Swedish, Uggla; in German, Enle; and all of 

 these hark back to the Latin Ulula, which was obviously an at- 

 tempt to imitate the note of some one of these birds. 



The mystery of their life by night, their weird unearthly hoots 

 and screams and their sometimes almost human expression must 

 have made owls objects of terror to our primeval forefathers in 

 the far distant past. Ever on the lookout for evil omens, these 

 birds must have satisfied the most lively imaginations in this 

 respect. In many parts of the world, gruesome superstitions con- 

 nected with the owl are still prevalent, as is hinted in some of the 

 local German names, "corpse-hen," "death-owl" and "sorrowing 

 mother." On the pampas of Argentina in South America, the 

 former wildness of the burrowing owl was due to the superstitious 

 fears of the native tribes, who called it "Sister of the Evil Spirit." 

 They killed it on every opportunity, and would never camp, or 

 stop, or rest where an evil owl had been seen. With the advent 

 of Europeans, this persecution ceased, and the birds soon became 

 tame and fearless. With the owl has always been connected the 

 idea of femininity. Among widely separated savage tribes it is 

 the woman's bird, the death of which is certain to be followed bv 



