Barn Owls. 



The Owls, some few excepted, are nocturnal in their habits; they come forth with the dusk of evening, 

 to prowl for food ; they winnow the air with silent pinions, their ears attentive to every slight sound, and 

 their eyes quick to discern their creeping prey, on which they glide with noiseless celerity. The organic 

 endowments of these nightly marauders are in admirable concordance with their destined mode of life. 

 The eyes are large and staring, but they are incapable of bearing the strong light of day; the iris is irri- 

 table, and the pupil almost completely contracted ; the lids are half-closed, and the membrana nictitans 



almost constantly drawn over the ball, like a delicate curtain ; 

 but when twilight sets in, the eyes display a very different 

 appearance, the lids are wide open, the curtain folded back, the 

 pupil is dilated, and they gleam with lustrous effulgence. 



The Barn Owl is spread throughout the temperate and 

 warmer regions of Europe. It conceals itself during the day 

 in deep recesses among ivy-clad ruins, in antique church 

 towers, in the hollow of old trees, in barn lofts, and similar 

 places of seclusion. At night it sallies forth for prey, which 

 consists of mice, rats, moles, and shrews. 



The Great, or Eagle Owl, is a native of the forests of Hun- 

 gary, Russia, Germany, and Switzerland, and is said to occur 

 eastward as far as Kamtchatka. It is upwards of two feet 

 in length. It makes its nest in the fissures of rocks and de- 

 serted buildings. It preys on partridges and other birds. 



Great, or Eagle Owls 



(211) 



