OWL. 



371 



owls, and also the eagles of the north, contrive to feed 

 while the snow remains unbroken. 



The circumstances which we have mentioned will 

 serve to point out in brief how these birds of the 

 north support themselves at different seasons of the 

 year ; and it is impossible to avoid admiring what 

 nature has made in them for preventing- any part of 

 the provision of the year from being lost. 



The species of owl under notice is very seldom 

 found where there are woods ; and therefore its 

 resting-place, and also its shelter, during those 

 extremities of the storm, which even its mantle and 

 wing are incapable of bearing, is in the clefts of the 

 rocks. It is not much of a wanderer ; and it is pro- 

 bable that the few which are seen in Orkney, and 

 more frequently in Shetland, reside there all the year 

 round ; nor do the northern ones quit their snowy 

 fastnesses until they are reduced to the greatest 

 extremity. When they do, they are usually found 

 upon the snow, or rather upon some jutting stone, or 

 projecting stick, which rises above the surface ; and 

 as the bird and the snow do not differ much in 

 colour, the small birds are not alarmed, and thus 

 they are captured with comparative ease. We may 

 add, that this owl, and the other owls which, like it, 

 are of bold character, and prey on the wing, and 

 have no tufts of feathers on the head, are not so 

 much molested by flocks of small birds as the owls 

 of more nocturnal characters are when they come 

 abroad during the day. 



Of the division of owls to which this belongs, 

 namely those which have no crests on the head, no 

 very produced feathers round the eye, and the tails 

 of moderate length, we can only afford to give a 

 mere list. 



THE LITTLE OWL (S. passerina) is one of the most 

 common of these, though as a British bird it is rather 

 rare. It is about seven inches long, and twice as 

 much in the stretch of the wings from tip to tip. It 

 is thus a well-winged little bird, and it is as bold as 

 it is powerful. It is found in America as well as in 

 Europe, though its size in the former country is larger, 

 and it is perhaps a little different in the colours. It 

 is rather a woodland bird in America, frequenting 

 the swampy shores and the margins of the waters. 

 In Europe its habits are rather different ; for it ap- 

 proaches the vicinity of houses, nestles in holes of 

 walls, usually hides itself in them during the day, and 

 comes abroad on its mousing excursions chiefly in 

 the twilight. It is not, however, confined to that 

 time of the day; for when the sky is gloomy, and 

 the swallows are out in great numbers, it may some- 

 times be seen hawking after them with considerable 

 dexterity and success. Swallows generally fly in 

 curves ; and the little owl, though not perhaps so 

 swift naturally as they are, takes the chord of the 

 arch, and not the arch itself, by which means it is 

 enabled to come up with them. In America it is 

 very common, extending even to the north parts of 

 Canada, and building its nest in the dark and thick 

 pines, not on the tops of the trees, but about midway. 

 The nest contains two white eggs, as is the case with 

 the whole of the genus ; and in those parts of the 

 world Wilson says it is rarely seen during the day, 

 though exceedingly active after twilight closes in. Its 

 colours are : olive brown on the upper part, with 

 some white snots on the scapulars and coverts of the 

 wings, and five bars of white passing obliquely over 

 the first five primary quills ; the tail is rounded, 



rather darker than the body, tipped with white, and 

 crossed by two rows of white spots ; the inner webs 

 of the wing feathers are also spotted with white ; the 

 ear coverts are yellowish brown ; the crown of the 

 head, the upper part of the neck, and a circle round 

 the ears, olive brown, beautifully marked with white 

 dots ; the front pure white, but ending in long black- 

 ish hairs, and there is also a black spot radiating out- 

 wards at the inner canthus of each eye ; the lower 

 parts are ochre-yellow, streaked with reddish bay ; 

 the thighs and feathered parts of the legs, which ex- 

 tend down to the very claws, are pale buff; the irides 

 are pale yellow, and the claws, which are long and 

 very sharp pointed, are black. This is the descrip- 

 tion of the female bird, which, as is the case in all the 

 species, is rather larger than the male; aud the young 

 male, being coloured like the female, and smaller in 

 size, has sometimes been described as a different 

 bird. 



THE FEATHERY-FOOTED LITTLE OWL (S. dasypus) 

 is rather larger than the one now mentioned. It is 

 brown with white spots, larger on the under part than 

 on the upper. The tarsi and toes are completely 

 feathered. It is found occasionally in some parts of 

 the south of England ; but, comparatively speaking, 

 it is a rare bird in this country. 



The number of species or varieties described as 

 belonging to this section of the owls is very great ; 

 and they are found in all countries, from the northern 

 boundary of the temperate climates to considerably 

 southward of the equator. A full description of all 

 these species would fill an entire volume, and even 

 then it would not be very satisfactory, as the species 

 are not a little confused. Two of the smallest species 

 are the occipital owl of Africa and the sparrow-like 

 owl of Brazil. The first of these is brown, yellow, 

 and white on the upper part, and whitish streaked 

 with rust colour on the under. The front and top of 

 the head are reddish white, mottled over with dots ; 

 and the quills are banded alternately with red and 

 brown. The toes, as well as the tarsi, have a downy 

 covering. The total length of the bird is about seven 

 inches. The other species has the head greyish 

 brown, with white dots ; the scapulars and wings 

 spotted and banded with white ; the tail black, with 

 four white bands ; and the front, the throat, and the 

 under part white. It is only six inches in length, 

 and is one of the smallest of the owls, but a bold and 

 active bird for its size. Some other owls, belonging 

 to this division, and chiefly found in the tropical parts 

 of America, have the tarsi naked, and the tail short ; 

 while those of the colder latitudes uniformly have the 

 tarsi feathered. The whole of this division are to be 

 considered as the most active and least nocturnal of 

 the owls ; and many of the small ones of the tropical 

 countries are found flying about under the shade of 

 the forests during the day as well as in the twilight. 



Many owls of the same division have the tail con- 

 siderably longer, and wedge-shaped. Of these, one 

 of the most remarkable is, 



THE HAWK OWL (S. Hudsonia of Wilson). _ This 

 is very common about Hudson's Bay ; but it is not 

 very correctly named from that country, inasmuch as 

 it occurs equally in the eastern continent. It may 

 be regarded as being, in its locality, a borderer upon 

 the country of the snowy owl of the extreme north. 

 Like that owl, it extends further southward in Ame- 

 rica than it does in Europe and Asia ; and in Europe 

 it is rarely indeed to be met with to the southward 

 AA2 



