242 



STRIGIDM, OR OWLS. 



WE now enter among what are familiarly known 

 as the nocturnal birds of prey, and are often looked 

 upon with superstition, from invading the silence 

 of the night with their grotesque appearance, or 

 their loud and peculiarly melancholy cries or hoot- 

 ings. The Strigidce, or Owls, as a family, are com- 

 paratively very little known, and, consequently, 

 the typical forms for an arrangement have been 

 only artificially pointed out. In Great Britain, 

 the members of it are limited in numbers, amount- 

 ing to six or seven species, and some of these 

 are of extreme rarity, and only partial or periodi- 

 cal visiters. They fill, during the night, the same 

 office? wnich the bolder hunting Falcons perform 

 ir tne open day, and serve to keep in check the 

 overrunning of those small mammalia to which 

 Nature has also allotted a " nightly season.** For 

 this rurt)ose their various organs are beautifully 

 suited ; their vision is acute, though not adapted 

 for the glare of noon -day ; their ears are contrived 

 to catch sound in the broadest way, and possess a 

 delicate perception ; while their plumage is of the 

 softest texture, " falling gently on the air." The 

 wings are constructed for a light, buoyant, and 

 noiseless flight ; for, independent of soft and downy 



