112 Owls. 



Much may be learned from a visit to the 

 "owls' cages." For example, it is hardly matter 

 of common knowledge that the barn owl, the 

 commonest and best-known of our British species, 

 has practically a world- wide range, the countries 

 in which it is not found being very few. Yet 

 that it is widely distributed will be palpable to 

 anyone who notices that two birds of this species, 

 the one from the " British Islands/' the other from 

 Chili, are confined in the same cage. Again, how 

 many people are aware that owls, when perched, 

 sit with two toes in front of their perch and two 

 behind ? This piece of knowledge has most cer- 

 tainly been acquired by very few bird-stuffers, 

 and apparently is not possessed by many writers 

 on birds, or the artists who illustrate their books 

 (curiously enough, neither Yarrell nor his artist 

 appears to have been acquainted with the fact), 

 yet a visit to the Zoo will convince the most 

 sceptical that this habit is possessed by the whole 

 family. 



The construction of the owl's foot is peculiar; 

 unlike the well-known foot of the parrot, which 

 has two toes in front and two behind, it, like that 

 of the eagle, or (a more familiar example) the 

 common sparrow, has one toe behind and three 

 in front; but the first of these is capable of much 

 lateral motion, while the fourth, or outer toe, is 

 reversible, and when the bird perches is turned 

 backwards, so that the bird sits on its perch with 

 the two middle toes in front and the two outer 



