CLASS II. AVES: ORDER 1. RAPTORES. 



67 



upon the air, moving as if by volition, bending, winding, and circling hither and thither, noise- 

 less as a shadow, and with the utmost grace and facility. His large eyes — before so vacant — are 

 now full of expression, and like those of a cat, penetrate the darkest caverns, glance into the 

 crannies of rocks and walls, and sweep the whole view with a keen, rapid, and sagacious scrutiny. 

 He is not solitary, for his kindred are with him, and he enjoys all the pleasures of society. He 

 sino-s, and there are those around who delight in his performance. In short, it was the will of the 

 Creator that even the night should not be wholly barren of life and enjoyment, and so He made 

 the Owl, and various other creatures, to fill this vacuum, and no reflecting mind can fail to remark 

 with wonder and admiration, how perfectly these creatures are adapted to their condition. 



The form and structure of the owl are so peculiar as to arrest the attention of every beholder. 



The large, cat-like 

 head and face, some- 

 times set off by tufts 

 of feathers which 

 have the appearance 

 of ears, constitute 

 their most character- 

 istic features. The 

 large eyes, directed in 

 front, inclosed by 

 feathers in the form 

 of .1 shell, give added 

 effect to the staring 

 expression of the 

 countenance. Their 

 plumage is soft and 

 downy, the edges be- 

 HEAD oi' THE EAGLK OWL. lug rccurvcd SO as to 



render their flight noiseless ; the eyes are fixed in 

 their sockets, so that the bird, in following an object 

 with its sight, is obliged to turn its head, whence the 

 old joke, that a man by going round and round be- 

 neath a tree on which an owl is sitting, will cause it 

 to twist its head off. Though the appearance of the 

 bird is plump, its body is in fact little more than skin 

 and bones. The hearing is said to be more acute 

 than that of any other member of the feathered 

 tribes. The wings are short, the bill hooked, the 

 feet similar to those of other predacious birds. 

 The eggs are generally two, sometimes three or four. 

 They feed for the most part on mice, moles, birds, 

 and insects. Most of those found in the United States are in some degree migratory. These 

 are the general characteristics ; but among the numerous species there are striking peculiarities. 



The owls — of which one hundred and forty species have been described, forty of them belong- 

 ing to our hemisphere — are divided into several families by some naturalists ; we shall, however, 

 follow those who divide them only into genera and species, first noticing those which are called 

 Day Oivls, and then those which are more strictly Night Owls. 



Genus SURNIA : this includes those species which resemble in their form, aspect and habits the 

 falconidse, and hence are called Hawk-Owls. Their characteristics are : the head deprived of ears 

 or tuft ; the concha small, and without operculum ; the bill short ; the legs feathered to the 

 feet ; the wings obtuse ; the tail long and tapering. The species are partially diurnal. 



The Hawk Owl, Day Owl, or Canada Owl, S. funerea, the S. caparacoch of Clicnu, the 

 Long-tailed Siberian Owl of Buflfon, Paypaiv Theecawsew of the Cree Indiana, the Ood-no- 



FOOT OF THE EAGLE OWL. 



