FAMILY STRIGIDjE j OWLS. 



4ir 



Fro. 220. EYE-DISK OK HOWLKT. 



these animals hunt for their prey, to fall with more power upon 



the organ of vision. It is 

 in the Owls which arc the 

 least nocturnal in their 

 habits, that we find the 

 external ear, and the disks 

 around the eyes, least de- 



^M^ 'IJMSKBiBlb vel p ed - The p u p iis f the 



8t^ AlBrJi V eyes are very large, and 



permit so much light to 

 enter, that the Birds are 

 quite dazzled if they open 

 their eyes in full day. The 

 apparatus of flight is 

 feeble in the Owls; since 

 they are not intended to 

 obtain their prey by swiftness of pursuit, but by the stea thiness 

 of their approach. The loose downy plumage of the wings 

 allows a considerable quantity of air to pass through it at eacli 

 stroke ; instead of offering a firm resisting surface, like the wing 

 of the Eagles and Falcons. To compensate in some degree for 

 this, the wings are long ; but the muscular apparatus by which 

 they are moved is not remarkable 

 for its power ; and the bony frame- 

 work to which they are attached, is 

 much less firm than in the Diurnal 

 Birds of Prey. The furcula, in par- 

 ticular, is very slender. The feet 

 are chiefly remarkable for the power 

 possessed by the external toe, of 

 being turned either backwards or 

 forwards. The digestive apparatus 

 chiefly differs from that of the Fal- 

 conidse in the absence of the crop, or 

 craw ; * but the gullet is very wide 



throughout ; and the Stomach i s FIG. 221. STERNUM, Ac. OF BARN OWL. 



more muscular than in the Diurnal Birds of Prey. 



It is stated by .Cuvicr that Owls have a lame crop; but tin's is an error. 



