248 OWLS. 



PLATE XXVI. 

 Head of Barn Owl, natural size. 



In this bird there is a very great perfection in the 

 organs, but, at the same time, there is an apparent 

 deficiency in some of them when compared with 

 the corresponding parts of another form, that 

 of Otus. In the White Owl, the plumage is of 

 the greatest softness and pliability ; the feathered 

 ruff and disk, in the centre of which the eyes 

 are placed, are wide and expansive, and the 

 eye externally appears full; but this important 

 organ-, when removed from the socket, is neither 

 proportionally larger, nor is it surrounded with a 

 bony ring of much power. The separation of the 

 ruff of feathers surrounding the disk opens very 

 widely to display what may be called the conch of 

 the ear, and the operculum is large and rounded, 

 but the external opening of the ear itself is small. 

 The shape of the bill in this form is lengthened, 

 and the gape is wide. The habits of the White 

 Owl are more familiar than those of any other 

 European species. Though in part arboreal, it 

 prefers rocks and ruined buildings for its retreat, 

 and even the less frequented parts of inhabited 

 houses. It is easily approached by day, and be- 

 comes tame in confinement. 



In the genus Otus, composed of a portion of 



