(j(i VERTEBRATA. 



A clovor writer in " ilousuhuld Words" luimuruiisly traces this coniinoii prejudice in various 

 l)inj;iiai;es as follows : 



"Our polite French ally makes up his mouth and says Hibou, with a strong and spiteful accent- 

 uation of the last syllable, which is tln' ohtioxioiis root of the name in nearly all languages; or 

 ho speaks throuirh his nose, as none but a Frenchman can speak, and stigmatizes the poor thing 

 as a Clnit-Jlmuit or hootiug-cat, a designation at once illogical and illiberal. The soft-voiced 

 Italian chokes with the malicious epithet Gnfo; the grave Spaniard, taking a cigarito from his 

 lips, sonorously exclaims Buho ; the Lower Austrian imitates the Castilian as well as he can, 

 and cries Biilm ; while the (Jerman, with wondering eyes and unmeaning face, delivers himself 

 of Eulc — which he pronounces very like oibj — as if he had hit upon something superlatively 

 characteristic and transcendental. Vulgarity marks the treatment which the owl experiences in \ 

 England. Madfic-hoiolct is, perhaps, the least uiigcntlemanlike of the names we give ; but a nnm- , 

 bcr of oft'ensivc adjectives are freely applied to designate a bird quite as estimable as many that [ 

 enjoy a much better character. In the Highlands of Scotland the owl is served out, so to speak, | 

 in barbarous Celtic, as a Corrasgrcacha;/, or a Caillcach-oidhche^ words which I defy the least j 

 hannonious bird of night itself to pronounce; and the Welsh leave you to choose between I 

 Dylluan Wen and Adcryn-y-Corph, both of which, you may he sure, mean something disagree- I 

 ahle. The Red Indians of North America, who know no better, call their owl Cohadecootch and '< 

 Wapohoo, and the native Australians, wlio ought to be the last people to sneer at others, deri- - 

 sively say Buck-buck when they speak of the Bird of Wisdom. The Japanese have a canine no- ' 

 tion of our friend — perhaps they believe them to be feathered dogs — and whisper Howo-waiwo 

 when he sails across their path. The Arabs, with their deep, gutteral voices, 9,a.j Khufj ; but 

 what word the Persians use I decline to mention. This enumeration might be greatly extended. 

 Enough, probably, has been instanced to show that the owl is not in the slightest degree indebted 

 to mankind for the ordinary politeness that is due to every stranger." 



Such are the popular impressions which have been entertained for ages in respect to the owl — 

 the oftspring of ignorance and that tendency of mankind to fill every space which has not been 

 made familiar by experience, with spirits of darkness. It is the mission of science to dissipate 

 these foul inventions ; it is especially the purpose of such a humblfe work as this to remove the 

 injurious and mischievous fictions which ignorance, the fruitful mother of prejudice and supersti- 

 tion, has woven around many of the objects which God has created and placed in communication, 

 more or less intimate, with mankind. The owl, truly and properly viewed, is calculated to excite 

 not merely curiosity, but gratified wonder : it is so constituted and so adapted to the purposes 

 of its creation as to be the theme of unbounded admiration among naturalists ; it is also, in fact, 

 so far from being an enemy of man, that it is in reality one of his best friends ; for, living upon 

 vermin that devour our substance, it is the protector of our granaries and larders. Instead of 

 being a gloomy and loathsome monster, it is in fact a cheerful bird, singing, dancing, and rollick- 

 ing in its daylight of darkness ; it is a good liver, and on proper occasions, a merry-maker, rois- 

 terer, and Robin Goodfellow — nay, even a buffoon, as our pages hereafter will show. In its moral 

 qualities it is most exemplary. It not only enjoys all the pleasures of making love, of courtship 

 and flirtation, of nest-building, hatching, and raising the young, of hushing the little dears to 

 slumber by gossip and song — which we, who have not an ear for such music, call hooting and 

 screeching — but its parental devotion, in prosperity and adversity, is really worthy of admiration. 

 Connubial faith and felicity are marked features in the owl's domestic life ; its providence is pro- 

 verbial. It is profoundly weather-wise, and by its whoopings, to those who are versed in these 

 things, aTinouncea the coming storm. These facts should not be reflected upon in vain. A bird 

 that for six thousand years has been held to be accursed, in tlie light of modern science is proved 

 to be a good and genial and worthy member of God's creation. Let us be careful how we 

 venture to aflirm that any thing God has made, is accursed ! 



To understand the owl, we must regard him from his own point of view. TTe is made for the 

 night, as we are for the day. Daylight is darkness to him ; sunset is his sunrise. During the 

 day he is blind, and nothing can exceed the awkwardness and stupidity of his appearance at such 

 a time. But when evening approaches, his whole being is transformed. He then glides forth 



