DISABILITIES 47 



claws. They can only move upon the ground by a 

 series of awkward and, one would think, rather 

 painful hops ; but, then, they rarely need to touch it 

 at all, except when they pounce upon their prey. 

 Their normal position is bolt upright upon a perch, 

 with two of their claws pointing more or less back- 

 wards, and two more or less forwards. When they do 

 alight upon a flat surface, they have to push a third 

 toe towards the front, in order to keep their body 

 tilted forwards and their delicate tail feathers off the 

 ground ; for owls, it should be noted, are as careful 

 of their exquisitely light and fluffy feathers, and 

 spend as much time in preening them, as a girl, 

 who is conscious of her beauty, does before a 

 looking - glass, in dressing her hair. Not a 

 feather is allowed to remain out of place, or soiled 

 with earth or blood stains, so long as its possessor 

 is in good health. The short-eared owl, on the 

 contrary, very rarely perches upon a tree and can 

 only by a special effort, if at all, sit quite upright. 

 Her plumage therefore must require " double, double, 

 toil and trouble," and she is fain, one would think, 

 to relieve her state of " little ease" by an occasional 

 flight by daytime. 



On the other hand, she is bold and fierce to 

 a degree, mobbing an intruder when she thinks 



