CHAPTER VII. 



February 5 February 11. 



THE GREAT HORNED OWL. 



Order Raptores Suborder Striges 



Family Bubonidse Genus Bubo 



Species Bubo virginianus 



Length 18.00 to 25.00; wing, 14.50 to 16.00; tail, 8.25 to 9.00. 

 Permanent Resident. 



"In the hollow tree, in the gray old tower, 



The spectre owl doth dwell; 



Dull, hated, despised in the sunshine hour, 



But at dusk, he's abroad and well! 



Not a bird of the forest ere mates with him; 



All mock him outright by day; 

 But at night when the woods grow still and dim, 



The boldest will shrink away: 

 O, when the night falls and roost the fowl, 

 Then, then, is the reign of the horned owl." 



The family Bubonidse, composed of the owls, has in it 

 about two hundred species, found in different parts of the 

 world. Ten of them have been identified in the Middle States. 

 They are distinguished by their nocturnal habits ; their strong 

 ear-like tufts which correspond to the ears of quadrupeds ; their 

 large heads ; their large, round, full and glaring eyes, set widely 

 apart and partially encircled in a disk of feathers ; a hooked bill 

 turned downward so that it resembles the nose of the human 

 face ; their strong talons, and their erect position. They all 

 have the outer toe capable of turning either to the front or 



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