2G4 



ACCIPITRES. BIRDS. STRIGHXE. 



JAEDDTE'S HARBIEB, (Circus Jardinii), another 

 Australian species, is remarkable for the great beauty 

 of its plumage, which is of a fine chestnut colour 

 generally, with the whole lower surface of the body and 

 the shoulders elegantly spotted with white. The tips 

 of the wings are nearly black, and the long tail is 

 marked with alternate bars of blackish-brown and pale 

 grey. Its habits exactly resemble those of the pre- 

 ceding species. 



THE FEOG-EATIKG HARKTEK (Circus ranivorus), 

 discovered by Le Vaillant at the Cape of Good Hope, 

 is described by him as being so much addicted to that 

 diet which is sometimes said to be also a favourite 

 with his countrymen, that even the Dutch boors and 

 Hottentots had given it the name of Kikvors vanger, 

 or the " Frog-catcher." Gliding gracefully over the 

 marshes and pools, this bird watches intently for the 

 appearance of any unlucky frog amongst the reeds; 

 and the moment he catches a glimpse of his intended 

 prey he dashes impetuously down amongst the herbage, 

 seizes his victim, and devours him on the spot. He 

 also destroys water-fowl, especially when young, and 

 appears sometimes to catch fishes. The nest of this 

 species is made amongst the plants of the marshes 

 frequented by it, and composed of fragments of their 

 stems and leaves. The eggs are three or four in num- 

 ber, and, like those of all known Harriers, of a white 

 colour. 



FAMILY III. STRIGIDJ3. 



The nocturnal birds of prey, or those whose princi- 

 pal period of activity is the darkness or twilight, form 

 only a single family, that of the Strigidse, or Owls. 

 These birds are distinguished from those of the pre- 

 ceding families by several sufficiently striking characters, 

 the most prominent of which are undoubtedly those 

 which bear a relation to their nocturnal mode of life. 

 Thus, the plumage is very soft and downy, rendering 

 the flight of the Owls perfectly noiseless, so that the 

 birds are enabled to execute the most rapid manoeuvres 

 in the air without producing any flapping sound to give 

 notice of their approach to the most wary of their prey. 

 Their eyes are of very large size, with immense pupils, 

 and consequently adapted to receive every ray of light 

 that may be available for vision. These organs are 

 placed in such a manner as to look almost directly 

 forward, and not, as in the day-flying hawks and eagles, 

 on the sides of the head. In both these particulars, as 

 previously stated, the harriers make a certain approach 

 to the owls; but these characters are exhibited by them 

 in a far less distinct form than in the birds of the pre- 

 sent family, and none of them are known to hunt their 

 prey in the twilight. Of course this structure of the 

 eye in the owls, however important to them in the 

 imperfect light in which they are destined to be abroad, 

 is by no means advantageous hi broad day-light, and 

 when exposed to the latter, they evince then- discom- 

 fort in the most evident manner. In a strong light 

 they can hardly see, but sit perfectly helpless and con- 

 fused, staring in a most ludicrous fashion at the objects 

 presented to them, and taking any opportunity of 

 withdrawing into some obscure corner. The ears also 



are of larger size than in any other birds, and are 

 usually furnished with a sort of lid to cover the large 

 cavity in which they open. 



The head is large, and there is no ridge over the 

 eyes, as in the Falconidae. The feathers of the face are 

 somewhat hair-like in their texture, and are arranged 

 in a radiating form round the eyes, constituting a pecu- 

 liar disc of irregularly circular form on each side of the 

 face. In some cases this disc completely surrounds the 

 eye ; in others the upper part of the face is clothed with 

 ordinary feathers, and the peculiar feathers of the disc 

 are only seen beneath and on the sides of the eye. The 

 feathers of the face bordering the inner margin of the 

 eye, which form the inner part of the facial disc, pro- 

 ject more or less forwards, and conceal the base of the 

 bill, which is short and hooked, and furnished with a 

 naked cere. 



The wings are rather short, broad, and rounded, 

 indicating far less power of flight than is possessed by 

 any of the hawks and vultures ; but, on the other hand, 

 the legs are stout and powerful, and armed with sharp 

 claws, of which an eagle need hardly be ashamed. 

 The whole of the tarsi and the toes nearly to their tips 

 are generally clothed with feathers, which are usually 

 of a hair-like texture. The outer toe in each foot is 

 reversible, or capable of being turned backwards, in 

 the manner of that of a parrot. 



These birds are solitary in their habits, living in 

 pairs in the holes of trees, rocks, old buildings, and 

 other retired places, where they conceal themselves 

 during the daytime, issuing forth in the evening to 

 seek their prey. This consists principally of the smaller 

 vertebrated animals, especially Mammalia, many of 

 which are nocturnal. The smaller owls also feed fre- 

 quently upon the insects, such as moths and beetles, 

 which come abroad in the twilight, and the indigestible 

 portions of all their prey are collected in the stomach 

 into little pellets, which are then disgorged. Their 

 voices are generally loud and discordant, and when 

 heard in the silence of the night, have, no doubt, had 

 much to do with the superstitious fear with which these 

 birds are commonly regarded by the vulgar in most 

 countries a feeling probably enhanced by the noiseless 

 flight of the bird, and its often frequenting the church- 

 yards and other solitary places, such as ruins, which 

 are regarded with a certain degree of awe by the igno- 

 rant and superstitious. We shall now refer to some of 

 the more important species of this family, commencing 

 with 



THE SNOWY OWL (Surnia nyctea) Plate 4, fig. 12. 

 Although the birds of this family are generally cha- 

 racterized, as already stated, by their adaptation to a 

 nocturnal mode of life, there are some whose organiza- 

 tion enables them to bear the light of day, so that they 

 can go abroad in search of their prey even when the 

 sun is shining brightly. The most diurnal of these 

 exhibit a striking approach in some of their characters 

 to the hawks, and especially to the harriers; their 

 heads and eyes are comparatively smaller than in the 

 more typical owls, their facial discs are imperfect, and 

 their ears are smaller and less complicated than in 

 the strictly nocturnal species of this family. Hence 

 these owls have been denominated Hawk Owls. Their 



