74 



THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



A RARA AVIS. 



" The Sealskin-bird," " Monkey-faced 

 Owl." (?) 



We find space for the following which 

 several friends have clipped for us : 



Mr. Henry Torstadt, who resides upon 

 Eleventh, between Maple street and Broad- 

 way, Lousville, Ky., is the possessor of the 

 strangest living creature ever seen. Mr. 

 Torstadt has already been offered $100 

 for the~bird repeatedly, and has invariably 

 refused it. Several ornithologists and nat- 

 uralists in the east and one in Chicago, 

 upon finding they could not buy it, have 

 notified Mr. Torstadt that they intend com- 

 ing to Louisville to see what they believe 

 to be the missing link, between the bird 

 and beast creation. Mr. Ross says the 

 bird, though ouljt^ a short time in the pos- 

 session of Mr. Torstadt, has become so 

 famous in Louisville that it is visited daily 

 by hundreds of people, many of whom are 

 ladies. From the ladies it got the name 

 of " the seal skin bird." Mr. Ross says it 

 was shot in the left wing, fell to the 

 ground and was captured by Mr. Torstadt's 

 brother-in-law, while hunting near Louis- 

 ville. It is about the size of a hen, but has 

 a monkey -shaped face with a beak like no 

 other bird that has ever been seen. The 

 beak is verj^ short and shovel-shaped, and 

 has a destructive capacitj^ beyond that of 

 a bald eagle. The talons are exactly like 

 those of an eagle, and the wings measure 

 four feet nine inches from tip to tip. The 

 legs are perfectly straight and without 

 joint, and about nine inches long. It is 

 the body of the bird however that attracts 

 the most attention. This is covered with 

 fur instead of feathers, and the hair is 

 about the length of that on a sealskin after 

 it is dressed to make a lady's sack with. 

 It is of a dark brown color, but somewhat 

 lighter than seal-brown. The wings are 

 covered with fur, commencing at the body 

 but feathers being farther on, and the end 

 feathers on the wing are as long as those 

 of an ordinary -sized bald eagle The bird 

 lives on raw beef and English Sparrows, 



and nothing delights it so much as to have 

 an opportunity to catch, tear and devour 

 a lot of sparrows. It has already become 

 quite domesticated and a great pet with 

 the ladies who declare it is to lovely for 

 anything. 



Our friends wish our opinion in regard 

 to the above. In reply, would say that 

 the following article from the Ortritliohgist 

 and Oologtst may throw some light on the 

 subject : 



' ' MONKEY-FACED OWLS. " 



Enclosed please find a photograph of a 

 pair of Owls which have been on exhibi- 

 tion here for tM'o or three weeks. The 

 owner sa> s they are the only pair in the 

 United States of North America, and are 

 native birds of Tartary. The photo is a 

 very f;iir representation. He calls them 

 "Monkey-faced Owls." The bill proper 

 is very small, but the mouth extends almost 

 to the eyes. Eyes, as near as I could see, 

 were very small. Iris dark hazel. Back 

 dark brown, marked very finely, breast 

 speckled Avith brown, bill blackish, crown 

 finely mottled, no tufts, tarsi long. Two 

 pair were taken at the fort at St. Augus- 

 tine, Florida, last Februarj-. One pair was 

 bought for some scientific institute in Ohio, 

 but escaped. P. T. Barnum, the man says, 

 offered him $500, but he refused. 



If they are American birds thej^ are a 

 cross of Barn Owl and something else.— 

 W. P. Tarrant, Saratoga. 



A specimen of the "Monkey-faced Owl," 

 a rare bird, was recently captured by Cap- 

 tain Pitts, of Orlando, Fla., in the Ever- 

 glades. It is described as being somewhat 

 smaller than the Hooting Owl. The plum- 

 age has the soft, furry texture of the owl 

 family, but a tinge of orange enters into 

 the color. The head and face are those of 

 a baboon, the face being white, while the 

 eyes are much smaller than those of an 

 owl of the same size, coal-black and some- 

 what almond-shaped, opening and closing 

 Avith lids like those of an animal. In fact, 

 they more nearly resemble the eyes of an 

 otter than a bird. — Ex. 



The Turkey Buzzard. 



(for the young OOLOGIST.) 



I suppose this Avill not be new to j^ou, 

 but I thought I would tell you a little of 

 my study of the Turkey Buzzard. Yes- 

 terday I happened to look out of my win- 

 dow and saw on the church on the corner 



