478 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



case of the Greeks, who made the owl the 

 symbol of wisdom, and chose as an emblem, 

 singularly enough, the species known as the 

 Little Owl, a bird which is notorious for its 

 ludicrous behaviour, so much so that it has 

 earned for itself the reputation of being the 

 veritable buffoon of birds. Its grotesque and 

 ridiculous antics are utilised by Continental bird- 

 catchers, who use it as a lure to attract small 

 birds, tethering it for this purpose near nets, 

 snares, or twigs smeared with bird-lime. 



Amongst other birds, strangely enough, the 

 owl appears to be as much disliked as the fiercer 

 and more dangerous members of the Hawk Tribe, 

 and in consequence, should one venture abroad 

 during the day or be discovered in its retreat, the 

 alarm is given, and every small bird within call 

 is summoned to take part in a general mobbing. 

 Although proverbially unpalatable, the Little 

 Owl is said to be eaten in Italy, as are other species 

 in the various countries in which they are found. 

 Varying considerably in size, the owls, 

 nevertheless, present a very general uniformity in 

 appearance. All are remarkable for the peculiar 

 softness of their plumage, which imparts to the 

 wings the almost unique power of absolutely 

 silent flight, the sound being deadened or muffled, 

 so that the prey can be approached suddenly, and 

 seized before escape is possible. This is very 

 necessary 



when hunting in twilight hours. The owls are almost 



the only birds in which the outer toe is reversible, or 



capable of being turned either forwards or backwards. 



Furthermore, the members of this group are remarkable 



for the fact that the eyes look directly forward, instead 



of outwards, as in other birds, and that the feathers of 



the face are arranged round each eye in the form of 



a disk, and thus impart the familiar owl-like visage, 



seen elsewhere only among certain of the Hawk Tribe 



known as " Harriers." 



Four species of owl are to be found sparsely dis- 

 tributed over Great Britain. We may regard as the 



typical owl the species known as the TAWNY or WoOD- 



OWL. It is the largest of the resident owls in England, 



and would be much more abundant but that it is sub- 

 jected to a rigorous and foolish persecution, born of 



long-standing prejudice and ignorance; it stands accused 



of the heinous offence of eating game, a charge which 



has never yet been fully proved. The benefits it confers 



are great, but, unfortunately, unrecognised, for its chief 



food consists of rats and mice. This is the bird which 



gives utterance to that weird " hoo-hoo hoo-hoo-hoo," 



Fhiti by C. If. 



[Smyrna 



EAGLE-OWL 



One of the largest owls 



thvtt fa If. P. Dandt, F.Z.S., Rtgtnt'l Part 



VIRGINIAN EAGLE-OWL 



common North American sptctes, feeding largely 

 on sma/t mammah 



