SCREECH OWL. 29 



person near, it was perpetually swaying deliberately 

 from side to side ; sometimes it lost its balance and 

 fell over. The irides were black, but the pupils 

 pale blue. It lay down to sleep, resting the side 

 of its head on the floor. 



In the course of a few days it began to seize food 

 when presented to it, which it swallowed eagerly ; 

 and I was astonished to see how large morsels it 

 would swallow, such as the undivided body of a 

 large Noctilio, which it could hardly receive into its 

 mouth. The coloured feathers now began to pro- 

 trude from the lengthening quill-tubes, and I per- 

 ceived that the tuft of down was slightly attached to 

 the point of the feather, and was deciduous ; or 

 rather, that it consisted of very fine and loosely 

 barbed prolongations of the ordinary beards of the 

 vane, very closely resembling in texture the barbs of 

 an ostrich-plume. When it became a little stronger, 

 so that it could support itself a moment on one foot, 

 it began to manifest a singular habit in eating. 

 Almost invariably, henceforth, as soon as it had 

 snatched a piece of flesh, which it did ravenously, it 

 chewed it a moment with the tips of the mandibles ; 

 this had the effect of pressing out the morsel on each 

 side so that it protruded. One foot was then brought 

 up under the chin, and thrown forward with a clutch- 

 ing motion, two toes being on each side the beak ; 

 this was awkwardly performed, being repeated several 

 times before the morsel was grasped ; and the bird 

 often stumbled about on the other foot, or nearly 

 fell over. When the foot had clutched the flesh, it 

 was held in the toes, until the beak could seize it in 



