THE MOPING OWL 
in their music, and can readily conceive that 
the moping owl may sing to his mate as 
passionately as Philomel. 
Not only is there the popular lack of dis- 
tinction between one owl and another 
already referred to, but scientific ornitholo- 
gists have displayed similar want of finality 
in classifying these birds. There are (as in 
seals) eared and earless owls, though the 
so-called " ears " in the birds are not actually 
ears at all, but tufts of feathers that give 
rather the impression of horns. There are 
bare-legged owls and owls with feather 
stockings. There are owls that fly by day 
and owls that fly by night, though this is a 
less satisfactory distinction than that be- 
tween the diurnal butterflies and nocturnal 
moths. Any reliable classification of owls 
must, in short, rest on certain structural 
bony differences of interest only to the student 
of anatomy. Nearly all these birds are able 
to turn the outer toe completely round, and 
most of them, also, have very keen hearing, 
which must be an invaluable aid when 
hunting small animals in the dark. 
Did the ancients actually regard the owl 
115 
