NINTH ANNUAL REPORT. 



207 



(KRAM (.A.- 



is covered with brown, harsh, double feathers. Its note is a deep 

 booming sound which can l)c heard a long distance. 



Nature is sometimes economical, even to the minutest details, 

 and an excellent exam])le of this is found in the feathers of these 

 flightless birds, which are devoid of the interlocking hookdets 

 which make possible tlu- tlight of other types of feathered 

 creatures. 



The eggs of the I'.uhu are from seven to eighteen in number, 

 and are laid in a roughU- tram])led nest of grass. .\s is the rule 

 among the birds of this Subclass, the male takes upon himself 

 the duties of incubation and rears the chicks, while the female 

 takes charge of the l)rood of the previous year. The chicks are 

 not of a dull-brown colour, liki' their parents, but are stri]K'<l with 



