OWL. 



377 



belly is whitish ; the bill is yellow, and nearly 

 (oncealed by white hairs, which are directed to the 

 front. Besides these, there are many other African 

 species, of which nothing can be said farther than 

 that they me of certain sizes, shapes, and colours. 



Of the owls of South America, -which are very 

 numerous, one of the most striking is the BlacJe-caped 

 Owl (S. atricapilla). It is a native of Brazil, be- 

 tween nine and ten inches in length ; and the most 

 'remarkable character of the plumage is the black cap 

 which marks the top of the head, and the tufts. The 

 upper parts are mottled with yellow, brown, and 

 black ; the nape is white, with zig-zag lines of black ; 

 there is a half-collar of russet, varied with black ; the 

 feathers of the face are greyish, with black moltlings ; 

 and there are some white spots in the wings ; the 

 irides, the beak, and the feet, are yellow. 



Of the Asiatic owls with tufts on the head we shall 

 mention only one species, the Oriental Owl (S. Orien- 

 talis), which is a native of Sumatra, and probably of 

 the rest of the Sundee Isles. It is rather a large spe- 

 cies, being nineteen or twenty inches in length. The 

 upper parts are blackish brown, crossed with zig-zag 

 streaks of red. The tufts go off behind the outer 

 angles of the eyes, extend outwards, and then turn 

 u p wards at the tips. They are composed of long 

 black feathers, surmounted at the middle by shorter 

 ones, which are streaked with brown. The face 

 whitish, rayed with black. The under parts white in 

 the ground colour and cross-barred with brown. The 

 breast and flanks russet, the bill and claws whitish 

 yellow, and the toes yellow. There are still two owls 

 which claim the attention of students of British birds 

 more strongly than any which have been yet men- 

 tioned. With us these are both very numerous ; and 

 they address themselves to our familiar observations, 

 each in its peculiar way, the one by the sound of 

 its voice, and the other by its near residence to the 

 abodes of man, its familiarity, and the great service 

 it renders agriculturists by destroying mice in stack- 

 yards and barns. The one of these is the tawny or 

 brown owl, the other the barn or white owl. 



THE TAWNY OWL. (S . stridula'). In many parts 

 of Europe, and in Britain especially, this is the owl, 

 by way of eminence, which makes the nocturnal 

 forests so dismal with its loud and lamenting cry. In 

 aspect it is one of the most sage-looking of all the 

 owls ; and in addition to many other names, the 

 screech-owl, among the rest, it is called " Peter," in 

 some parts of the country ; though after what Peter 

 it is named we pretend not to say. Its head is very 

 large, even in the solid part, and the feathers are im- 

 mensely produced, especially those on the head. The 

 legs are also of large size. The bird stands up with 

 the line of the body nearly perpendicular ; and as the 

 body is very lanky r and the legs stout, it nearly bears 

 some resemblance to a person of small stature, with 

 goodly spectacles across an aquiline nose, fur- 

 nished with a surprising complement of wig, and al- 

 together as demure as a judge. 



The character of the tawny owl may be briefly 

 stated as follows : its length is fifteen inches, and its 

 weight is about nineteen ounces. The bill is light 

 brown, the irides dusky; the feathers round the bill are 

 white and narrow ; but those between the bill and the 

 eyes have black shafts. The general plumage of the 

 bird is deep tawny. This colour is darkest on the 

 head, brightest on the breast ; and in some parts it is 

 spotted with black. The belly is tawny, the feathers 



of which have white margins, and a black streak down 

 their shafts. The exterior webs of the outer scapulars 

 are white, and some of the exterior larger coverts of 

 the secondary quills are dotted with a white spot on 

 their outer webs ; and these form two obscure mark- 

 ings of white. The quills are crossed with light, 

 tawny brown, and dusky bars ; and the light colour 

 gradually changes to white at the base. The two 

 middle feathers of the tail, and the rump, are plain 

 tawny ; and the others are alternately barred more or 

 less with tawny and dusky. The legs are thickly 

 covered with feathers, or rather down, of a grey colour, 

 speckled with brown. The claws are dusky. This 

 is the description of the female ; but it may also serve 

 for the male ; for the plumage of both sexes is exactly 

 alike, except that the female is generally less tawny. 

 From this latter circumstance they have been de- 

 scribed by some as different species ; but this has long 

 since been proved to be a mistake. The only dis- 

 tinction between the sex that is worthy of being no- 

 ticed is their difference in size. In this particular the 

 male is considerably the smaller ; his length does not 

 exceed thirteen inches, and he seldom weighs more 

 than from fourteen to fifteen ounces. 



This species is very common not only in England 

 but in all parts of Europe, and it is said to be met with 

 ir. Newfoundland and in some parts of South America, 

 though not in the north of that continent. In every 

 country it is an inhabitant of the woods, and rarely 

 makes its appearance far over the open grounds. It 

 is understood to be an exceedingly hardy bird. In 

 confinement it never drinks, though it eats plentifully. 

 But no positive conclusion can be drawn from this, 

 as to what may be its conduct in a state of nature. Its 

 soft feathers have but little water-proof quality ; and 

 hence a rainy day reduces it to about half the bulk 

 which it appears to have when dry. On such occa- 

 sions it looks very woe-begone ; and yet the rain 

 seems to have no great effect upon its health, and a 

 very temporary one on its plumage ; for if it gets soon 

 wet it gets as soon dry again. In strong sun-light its 

 eyes are the weakest part of it ; and yet they appear 

 to be annoyed rather than injured, for it can look at 

 the sun, though it cannot find its prey, or even its way 

 on the wing, while the sun shines strongly. Some- 

 times, however, it remains dozing in the sun ; but if it 

 is attacked on such occasions it is very easily killed 

 or captured. The greater part of the authorities are 

 of opinion that it is the only British owl which hoots ; 

 and while it does this it distends the throat to the size 

 of a pullet's egg. Its screeching cry is even more dis- 

 agreeable than its hooting ; and this cry, associated 

 with the gloomy places in which the bird is usually 

 found, and the times at which it is heard, has made it 

 be very generally considered as a bird of evil omen. 

 It is very rapacious in its feeding, and while it prowls 

 about the hedges, and over the fields and covers near 

 woods, it destroys great numbers of young game. 

 Mice, however, are its most general food ; and these 

 it is said to skin with considerable dexterity. In the 

 case of the larger prey, at least, it tears in pieces be- 

 fore it begins to cat ; and both its bill and its claws 

 are well adapted for the purpose. When pressed by 

 hunger, which is not, however, often the case, as it 

 keeps on rich places, it sometimes comes out volun- 

 tarily, if there is a cloud over the sun, and alights on 

 the ground, hopping about there in search of young 

 birds ; but it never ventures far from trees, and when 

 it is alarmed it seeks its safety in these. 



