374 



OWL. 



attracted by it is sometimes turned to considerable 

 account ; for the keepers of preserves of pheasants 

 and other game occasionally display it in confine- 

 ment, to attract other destroyers of birds and eggs. 



When it migrates to a distance, it gets into lofty 

 flight ; but when it preys its flight is low, and its note 

 is deep and dismal. By means of this note, it is under- 

 stood to alarm the birds and other animals upon which it 

 preys, to such an extent as to make them disclose them- 

 selves victims to its rapacity. That rapacity is very 

 great ; and, in the nesting time especially, the quantity 

 of prey which these birds consume is immense. All 

 owls are, indeed, ravenous and frequent feeders ; and 

 as the young remain longer in the nest than those of 

 very many birds, they lay a heavy contribution upon 

 such animals as serve them for food. Under some 

 circumstances this may be an evil ; but if we consider 

 that these owls chiefly resort to the wilds of nature, 

 the probability is that the good which they do may 

 predominate upon' the whole. Some countries are 

 so completely overrun by small ground rodentia, that 

 when these descend from the mountains they would 

 produce desolation were it not that such birds as the 

 eagle-owl accompany them and thin their numbers. 

 In Norway this is especially the case with the lem- 

 mings. In ordinary seasons these little animals keep 

 in the forests the whole year round ; but they some- 

 times invade the plains like a torrent ; and when this 

 is the case, the eagle-owls are of great service to the 

 people, from the great numbers that they destroy. 

 These owls are therefore looked upon with great 

 favour by the people of that country ; and it is pos- 

 sible that the mythological favour bestowed upon owls 

 in general, as birds of wisdom, arose in a great mea- 

 sure from their service in the destruction of small 

 mammalia. We need hardly mention that an owl of 

 some species or other, perhaps the little owl of the 

 south, which has only a few hairs on the feet, was the 

 bird of Minerva ; and there are some singular atten- 

 tions paid to the owl, or, at all events, to the spoils of 

 it, by some of the tribes of American Indians, which 

 have a singular coincidence with the favour shown to 

 the birds in ancient mythology. " Among the Greeks," 

 says Bartram in his Travels, " the junior priests or 

 students constantly wear a white mantle, and have a 

 great owl-skin cased and stuffed very ingeniously, so 

 well executed, as almost to appear like the living 

 bird, having large sparkling glass beads, or buttons, 

 fixed in the head for eyes. This insignia of wisdom 

 and divination they wear sometimes as a crest on the 

 top of the head ; at other times the image sits on the 

 arm or is borne on the hand. These bachelors are 

 also distinguished from other people by their taci- 

 turnity, grave and solemn countenance, dignified 

 step, and singing to themselves songs or hymns in a 

 low sweet voice as they stroll about the town." 



In Europe, the eagle-owls construct large nests in 

 lofty trees or in rocks, but the eggs seldom exceed 

 two in number. The American ones generally 

 build in trees ; and in the United States they do not 

 begin till the month of May. The nest is usually 

 placed against the fork of a tree ; but if there is a 

 hollow at a sufficient elevation, the preference is given 

 to that as requiring less labour in building. The eggs 

 are described as being four in number, of a pure 

 white colour, nearly as large as the eggs of a com- 

 mon fowl, and round. The spoils of a number of 

 birds are generally found in the nest after the young 

 have quitted it. 



The colours of those formidable owls are various 

 shades of brown, tawny, and rust colour ; and the 

 male has some white on the breast, while the upper 

 colours are brighter than those of the female. Taking 

 it altogether, and whether we regard it as consisting 

 of a single species varied by climate and locality, or 

 several species in the different countries where it is 

 found, the eagle-owl is one of the most interesting of 

 all the owls ; and from the powers with which it is 

 endowed, and the extent over which it is distributed, 

 there is little doubt that its use in the economy of 

 wild nature is very important, though it is not much 

 wanted in countries where the surface generally is 

 cultivated by man. 



LONG-TUFTED OWL (S. otis). This is a resident 

 owl in the British islands, and one of the finest in the 

 country. It is not so common, or, at all events, so 

 frequently seen as our native tuftless owls ; though 

 the latter circumstance at least is a good deal owing 

 to its less familiar habit. It is strictly a woodland 

 bird, and loves the shade at all seasons of the year, 

 and thus it is most abundant in evergreen forests, 

 though these conduce to its concealment. But though 

 a woodland bird, it is not a mountaineer. It is never 

 found beating over the upland and exposed moors, nor 

 does it haunt the woods of the high glens. It is thus 

 a bird of very different character, not only from the 

 smooth-headed owls of the polar regions, but from 

 the eagle-owl. Accordingly it is not found far 

 to the north, and may be considered as a bird of 

 Middle Europe. It also occurs in the American 

 continent, chiefly ia the thick forests over the 

 swamps. 



It is a bird of moderate size, the fem.ale measuring 

 about one foot three inches in length, and three feet 

 four in the stretch of the expanded wings. It is thus 

 a well-winged bird for its size, and consequently a 

 powerful flyer, though, as we have said, its range of 

 flight is within the forests. When it flies its wings 

 are very noiseless, and it glides along with little ap- 

 parent resistance from the air. The ground colours 

 of the plumage are rich, and the markings beautifully 

 diversified. The upper part is orange, marked with 

 black streaks, and finely sprinkled with delicate 

 touches of black, grey, and white, becoming paler in 

 the shades towards the sides, and thus giving a very 

 pleasing relief to each feather. The under part is 

 buff colour, marked with lines and arrow-head spots, 

 something like the markings upon several of the di- 

 urnal birds of prey. The quills of the wings are 

 brownish-orange, crossed by bands of blackish-brown ; 

 and the tail feathers are grey-orange, barred and spot- 

 ted with black. The feathers of the tarsi and toes are 

 the same as the ground colour of the tail, and without 

 any markings. The tufts, which the bird can move 

 at pleasure, are about an inch long each, composed of 

 a variable number of feathers. The eyes are very 

 bright reddish-orange: and the large conchae with 

 which they are surrounded give them a very fiery and 

 formidable aspect when the bird glares with them from 

 the deep shade. 



The female is the more interesting bird of the two, 

 as will be explained when we come to speak of her 

 nesting habits. She differs a little from the male ; 

 and as the young of these owls are in considerable 

 request with those who are fond of birds, we shall 

 add the description of her. The tufts larger than the 

 male, the front feather in each being the shortest, and 

 the others gradually increasing in length backwards. 



