8 OWLS 



belfry is no resting-place for him and his ? I throw 

 out these suggestions merely for what they may be 

 worth. 



When found at home, he moves his head slowly 

 from side to side, with an air of ineffable gravity. 

 Burleigh's nod was nothing to it. Should he be of 

 a more combative disposition, he utters a prolonged 

 hiss, or snaps loudly with his beak, and flings 

 himself on his back, with claws drawn up, ready to 

 fasten them in the hand of his " interviewer," or in 

 the thick leather glove with which, if prudent, he 

 will have enveloped it. When he has planted them 

 there, he has done his little best, and submits with 

 an almost Christian resignation to his fate, and 

 straightway falls fast asleep in your hand. Now 

 is the time to examine the marvellous mechanism of 

 the ear, which is entirely hidden from view by the 

 feathers which encompass it. It will take you long 

 to find ; but blow the feathers apart, just beyond 

 the outermost circle of those which gird in the eye, 

 and you will find that your fingers have been close 

 to it all the time. You will find a large square 

 orifice, many times as large in proportion as the 

 human ear, with a flap of skin guarding the entrance, 

 and a ring of little downy feathers gently curving in- 

 wards, closely set, and thus, doubtless, serving to 



