THE HORNED OWLS. 



93 



Mr. Seebohm says that the flight of the Little Owl reminded 

 him very much of that of a Bat. " It was not an undulating 

 flight, but a steady, slow, beating of the wings, without any 

 apparent exertion ; and yet there was a butterfly-like uncer- 

 tainty about it, as if it continually changed its mind and slightly 



altered its course At Athens it was very common 



on the Acropolis, and was evidently breeding in holes in the 

 rocks and ruins. In the Parnassus we often heard its curious 

 note, cuc-koo-vah' -ee, cuc-koo-vaH -ee^ and were told that it re- 

 mained there all the year. It may be seen perched on a tree, 

 a rock, or on the roof of a house." 



Nest. None, or a small collection of rubbish gathered in 

 the vicinity. The Little Owl breeds from the middle of April 

 to the middle of May, and the nest is placed in a hollow tree, 

 or in the cleft of a rock, or in the roof of a house, and Mr. 

 Seebohm says that he has seen one under the roots of a tree. 



Eggs. Four to six in number; pure white, and oval in 

 shape. Axis, i '3-1 '4 inches; diam., i*o5-i*i5. 



With the next genus we commence the Sub-family SyrniincR^ 

 to which it is difficult to apply an English name, as the Sub- 

 family embraces Owls of very different appearance, some of 

 them having ear-tufts, as in the genus Asio> while the Wood- 

 Owls (Syrnium and Nyctala) have no tufts on the head. All 

 the members of the Syrniincz have the facial disk complete, 

 extending as far above the eye as it does below it, and the 

 ear-conch is larger than the eye, and is closed by a very 

 distinct operculum. 



THE HORNED OWLS. GENUS ASIO. 



Asifl, Briss, Orn. i. p. 28 (1760). 

 Type, Asia otus (L.). 



These Owls are distinguished by the very distinct tufts of 

 feathers, or "horns," on the head, which are always present, 

 though they are longer in some species than in others. The 

 cere is also strongly marked, and is longer than the culmen. 

 Seven species of Horned Owls are known, and they are found 

 in the greater part of the Old and New Worlds, but they 



