270 HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



talked fishing, hunting, and camping for the last two weeks 

 and had bragged not a little to his less fortunate play- 

 mates. 



Description. This owl reaches a length of from twenty 

 to twenty-four inches, and its loose, fluffy feathers make it 

 look bigger than it really is. Out of this mass of feathers 

 project a vicious-looking crooked bill, and formidable curved 

 claws. Two large tufts of feathers stand erect on the cat- 

 like head, and the large yellow eyes seem to be intent upon 

 staring you out of countenance. The plumage is irregularly 

 mottled and barred, showing shades of black, tawny, buff, 

 and whitish ; the feet and legs are also feathered. 



This owl is a resident of our Northern States ; it ranges 

 from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi valley and south 

 to Central America. The nest is usually built on high trees 

 in a dense forest. It is a rude structure built of sticks and 

 twigs, and lined with leaves, moss, and grasses. The eggs, 

 from three to four in number, are yellowish-white. 



That this owl is a bird of prey, we perceive at once from 

 the shape of its bill and claws. There are but few birds 

 which it will not attack, and such small mammals as rabbits, 

 rats, and mice are its daily fare. Should it chance upon 

 the chicken trees of some careless farmer, it is sure to cause 

 sad havoc, perhaps killing half a dozen chickens in one night. 

 Where poultry is protected, it is undoubtedly a useful bird, 

 like nearly all our birds of prey, because it helps to keep in 

 check the army of small rodents which are nearly all more 

 or less injurious to man. 



Did you ever stop to think why the eyes of owls are so 

 large ? If their eyes were like ours, they could not find any 

 mice after sunset. Their hearing also is very acute, and 

 their flight, on account of their soft feathers, is noiseless. 

 Tlie three points just mentioned are of great importance to 

 owls, because the mammals on which they feed are mostly noc- 



