524 NATURAL HISTORY. 



woods and underbrush. Some of the birds thus flushed afforded but little 

 sport ; but when a heron was driven out, the excitement rose high, for no 

 bird, excepting the kite, promised a finer spectacle. Both birds rose in 

 circles, those of the heron being small, those of the falcon large, each try- 

 ing to rise above the other. Up and up they went, until they became mere 

 specks : but at last blood tells ; the falcon gets above the quarry, and, 

 swooping clown, strikes it with all his force. The mere shock of the col- 

 lision may kill a smaller bird, but not so with a heron. Still, its strength 

 is gone, and it falls to earth, bringing with it the falcon, whose talons are 

 buried in its back. 



Wise as an owl is a well-known phrase. Owls certainly do have a wise 

 look. The fluffy plumage of the head, and the large eyes, with their 

 strange setting of radiating feathers, all take part in giving this appear- 

 ance of great erudition. What, for instance, in the whole range of nature, 

 has more the appearance of judicial gravity, critical acumen, and deep 

 thought, than the barn-owl whose image is before you ? No judge upon 

 the bench, no professor behind his desk, can begin to equal this bird of 

 wisdom. Still, it is a well-known truism that appearances are often 

 deceitful. The dignified judge often has nothing but his dignity ; too 

 many of our professors profess to know, and stop there ; and the owls, on 

 their part, are content with seeming wise without the reality, either intui- 

 tive or acquired. But what difference does it make ? People and things 

 are taken for what they seem, and not what they really are. ' Feather- 

 top,' of Hawthorne's tale, captivated little Polly Gookin, and Minerva, the 

 Goddess of Wisdom, was so imposed upon by one of the owls that she 

 selected it as her confidential adviser. Who can tell but what some of 

 the foolish knowledge of ancient Greece and Rome had its origin in some 

 inanity Avhich this pretentious bird whispered in the ear of the credulous 

 goddess ? 



Most of the owls are nocturnal birds, keeping themselves concealed dur- 

 ing the day, and only at evening beginning their flight. Owing to the dif- 

 ficulties of observation comparatively little is known of their habits. We 

 can easily see the eagle as it soars high in the air ; the water-birds take the 

 day lor all their activities; it is only during the hours of light that our 

 common birds display all their wonderful habits; but the owls are pre- 

 eminently birds of the night. In the day-time their eyes seem to be of 

 little use, and then is the opportunity of all the other birds. When they 

 find an owl sleeping away the day. the scene is highly interesting. Then 

 all animosities but one are forgotten ; the loud shrieks constantly attract 

 more and more, all bent upon mobbing the owl. Round and round it they 

 fly, each screeching its loudest, and each doing its best to torment the bird 





