376 



OWL. 



by the \\&y, is a difference in character between very 

 many of the birds of the two continents, as, that 

 which is a field-bird in Europe is a forest-bird on the 

 other side of the Atlantic. But this is a matter of 

 necessity, not of choice ; because North America was 

 originally almost wholly a wooded country, and it 

 remains so to a very great extent still. As a British 

 bird, it rarely, if ever, nestles except in the extreme 

 north, principally in heaths and tufts of grass. It also 

 lodges in such places ; and, when driven from its 

 lodgment during the day, it flies to a short distance, 

 and then alights, turns round, and reconnoitres the 

 disturber, with apparent astonishment that the siesta 

 of so sage a bird should be interrupted in so daring 

 a manner. In winter it often ranges to the south- 

 ward, and, contrary to the habits of most owls, it is 

 found in flocks, as Bewick mentions, twenty-eight 

 being seen in one corn-field in the month of Novem- 

 ber. As compared with most owls that come into 

 temperate latitudes, it is a sturdy and stern bird, 

 looks with great gravity, and catches mice with 

 much dexterity. When it is in a state of complete 

 repose its tufts are not observed, but it erects them 

 when its attention is excited. These tufts consist of 

 very few feathers, and are not perceptible on the 

 dead bird without very close examination. When 

 the weather is clear, it remains concealed in a tuft, 

 or perched on a stump, watching for whatever prey 

 may come within its reach ; but, when the weather 

 is very dark, it flies out, though by very short flights 

 at a time. On such occasions it gives chase to any 

 bird that may happen to rise ; and it is highly 

 probable that, in the moors, it feeds a good deal upon 

 ground birds and their young. Mice are, however, 

 its principal food, especially in rich places and the 

 neighbourhood of thickets ; and its vigilance and 

 strength are such that it captures great numbers. 

 The length of the male is fifteen inches, and the 

 stretch of the wings about three feet four inches. 

 The general colour of the upper part of the body 

 is dark brown, and the plumage is broadly margined 

 with pale yellowish brown ; the irides are rich golden 

 yellow, embedded in a border of deep black, which 

 radiates outwards at all points except towards the 

 bill ; here the plumage assumes a whitish colour; the 

 bill is large, and of a black colour ; the ears are 

 margined with a semicircular streak of black and 

 tawny yellow spots ; the tail is rounded, and of 

 greater length than is usually to be met with in owls ; 

 it is barred with five dark brown bands, and a similar 

 number of yellow ochre ; several of these last are 

 dotted in the centre with specks of dark brown, and 

 all are tipped with white ; the quills are also barred 

 with deep brown and yellow ochre ; the breast and 

 belly are yellowish in the ground, and streaked with 

 dark brown ; the legs, thighs, and vent, are dull 

 yellow ; the three primary quills are tipped with black ; 

 the legs are feathered down to the claws, which are 

 exceedingly sharp, black, and curved to about a 

 quarter of a circle. The female is larger than the 

 male, and has more white on the fore part of the 

 body, and the markings on the upper plumage not so 

 rich. 



THE SCOPS-TUFTED OWL (S. scops'). This is the 

 smallest of all the tufted owls which ever appear in 

 any part of Britain ; and its visits are so few and far 

 between, that it can hardly be regarded as a British 

 bird. It belongs to the eastern migration, and is a 

 very beautifully-marked creature. South and middle 



Europe and Africa are the principal places of its 

 residence, and perhaps it is more abundant in the 

 south of Austria than in any other country. Its 

 length is only about seven inches, but it is a well- 

 winged little bird, and very active and daring. Its 

 southern locality is shown by the fact of the tarsi and 

 toes being almost entirely bare of feathers, so that the 

 tendons would get benumbed, and the bird would be 

 unable to find its food, were it exposed to a severe 

 climate. 



The upper part of it is fine reddish ash, clouded 

 with waving spots of black and brown, streaked with 

 longitudinal lines of black, and very delicately crossed 

 by very fine touches of the same colour ; the under 

 parts are of the same colours, but clearer in the tint, 

 and the part of the legs which is feathered is reddish ; 

 the tuft consists of eight little feathers, which stand 

 up, forming a sort of coronet ; the bill is black, and 

 the irides yellow. 



The number of tufted owls in the warmer parts of 

 the world is very great. They occur in every part of 

 Africa, excepting the deserts. There are also many 

 in India, in the Oriental Isles, and in Australia. 

 America, and the American islands, are amply sup- 

 plied with tropical owls, many of which have pro- 

 duced feathers on the head. These are in general 

 feebler birds than the owls of the north, and their 

 history is at the same time very imperfect. Some 

 inhabit the woods, and others the bushy wastes ; those 

 which have the latter locality usually constructing 

 their nests in the bushes, or in holes of the earth. 

 Of those which frequent the open plains, and lodge 

 in burrows, it is probable that many occupy the nests 

 and holes of some of the smaller burrowing mam- 

 malia, and even dig into the ground to eat them. 

 The dry plains of South America, and indeed of 

 most tropical countries, are so completely honey- 

 combed by the labours of small ground animals, that 

 an owl can be at little loss for a hole to creep into 

 anywhere. 



To enter into a formal enumeration of all the 

 named species of those owls of which notice is made 

 in the descriptive catalogues would be a tedious task, 

 as well as an unsatisfactory one. We shall therefore 

 mention only one or two as specimens. 



THE AFRICAN TUFTED OWL (<S. Africana) is a 

 native of the country of the Cape. It is about 

 fourteen inches and a half in length. The upper 

 parts are mottled with brown and black ; the fore- 

 head and summit of the head are brown, with a small 

 white spot on the tip of each feather, and the tufts 

 have brown on their outer margins ; the face is 

 greyish, surrounded with a white circle and then 

 a black one ; the disc round the eye is deep yellow, 

 radiated with blackish, and bordered with white ; the 

 under parts are brown, with cross bars and spots of 

 white ; there are some white spots on the turn of the 

 wing ; the feathers on the legs have zig-zags of 

 black ; the bill is blackish, and the irides orange. 

 Another African species, occurring farther to the 

 north, is the White-cheeked Owl (5. leucotis). It is 

 found in central Africa, and is smaller than the former, 

 being only nine inches in length. It is yellowish 

 grey on the upper part, with the shafts and fine lines 

 across the feathers black ; the upper part of the head 

 is yellow, streaked with dark brown ; the tufts are 

 marked in the same manner ; the discs around the 

 eyes are white, surrounded with black ; the under 

 part is coloured somewhat like the upper, only the 



