The Owls. 57 



upon the ground. The eg.s,^.s are pure white, coiuplelel}' oval, .suhoval or 

 elongate, in shape, and are usually frcjui Lv\'o to five or seven in number; 

 some Owls, however, after good feeding, when small mammals are abundant, 

 become more prolific, and lay ten, or even twelve or thirteen eggs. The eggs 

 are usually laid at intervals, and the warm down of the Owlets first hatched 

 assists in incubating the later eggs. It thus happens that in the same nest 

 Owlets of different age and progress towards maturity will be discovered, to- 

 gether with freshly laid eggs. The nestlings are at first covered with a white 

 or greyish down. 



The Owls are dispersed over all parts of the world; about two hundred 

 species are now known and described. They var}- in size from the tiny 

 Span-ow-Owls (GlauculiionJ , no larger thau a Finch, to the fine Eagle-Owls 

 (BuboJ, which are over two feet in length. Many of the Owls are found in 

 two forms of plumage, a grey form, in the northern and north-eastern parts 

 tof the world, and a red form, in the west and south. Their classification is 

 a matter of difficulty to systematists ; the ten Owls upon the British list, com- 

 prising four residents and six occasional visitors, are ranked in nine genera ! 

 Ornithologists, as yet, appear to be unable to decide upon the features which 

 offer the best basis for arrangement, the ear (a most important organ with the 

 Owls), the skeleton, or the feathers. 



In general, the nocturnal Owls possess the most rounded heads with the 

 largest ears, and these are further provided with an operculum, or lid, con- 

 sisting of a fold of skin edged with short feathers, and moved b}' voluntary,' 

 muscles, serving both to protect the large orifice of the ear, and to form a 

 conch for the reception of all the undulations of soiind. The nocturnal Owls 

 hunt for their pre}^ with equal assistance from the senses of sight and hearing; 

 in the diurnal Owls, inhabiters of high latitudes, the orifice of the ear is 

 smaller, and is without an operculum ; these Owls chiefi}- depend upon their 

 powers of vision to discover their pre}-. Some of the Owls have upright tufts 

 of feathers on their heads, which are variousl}- called horns, or ears, but they 

 are in nowise connected with the organs of hearing. 



The Owls are a ver}' interesting and useful family of birds, deser\-ing to 

 be both valued and protected for the sei-\dces the}- render to the agriculturist ; 

 they can be easily kept in confinement, and the smaller kinds become amusing 

 pets ; they are always in excellent plumage, pro\'ided they are properly fed ; 

 their food should never be without something in the nature of feather or fur; 

 like all other raptorial birds Owls void the undigested portions of their food 

 in the form of elongated pellets, and this they cannot well do M"ithout the 



Vol. in K 



