FAMILY STRICIDJE ; OWLS. 



419 



FIG. 220. EYE-DISK OF HOWLET. 



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



the organ of vision. It is 

 in the Owls which are the 

 least nocturnal in their 

 habits, that we find the 

 external ear, and the disks 

 around the eyes, least de- 

 veloped. The pupils of the 

 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 stealthiness 

 of their approach. The loose downy plumage of the wings 

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

 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. Thefurcula, 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- 

 conidas in the absence of the crop, or 

 craw ; * but the gullet is very wide 

 throughout; and the stomach 

 more muscular than in the Diurnal Birds of Prey. 



* It is stated by Cuvier that Owls have a large crop ; but this is an error. 



