Birds i&f Nature Magazine 



13 



pinions carry a mousing owl over field and 

 stubble, the head, like the nose of a hound, 

 is held low, and, that not a rustle 

 nor a motion of the little field-mice 

 may be lost, the ear-openings c\re turned 

 downward and the ej^es look fuU upon the 

 ground. Look a barn owl in the face and 

 you \\[\\ see the entire circurpference of 

 both eyes, but a dove — one of the pursued 

 in life's race — shows in the fropt view only 

 the profile of the e3^eballs. The same story 

 is told in the ej^es of the fox ^nd the rabbit 

 — examples of nature's parallels, which are 

 never repetitions. 



Another adaption found in the eyes of 

 almost all nocturnal birds is the great size 

 of the orbit, fully one half of the skull being 

 hollowed out to receive the eyeballs. No 

 degeneration of the eyes, as a result of noc- 



owner to all but look through the back of 

 its head. 



Although eyelashes, as we understand 

 them, are merely stiffened hairs which have 

 been inherited from hairy-coated ancestors, 

 yet among birds we sometimes find lashes 

 similar in appearance and function, but 

 structurally derived from feathers. The 

 ostrich has well-developed eyelashes, which 

 must be of value in helping to exclude the 

 dust of the desert; but why such birds as 

 hornbills and the Seriema should possess 

 them we cannot say. 



Most, if not all, plumes and crests on 

 birds are probably ornamental, and, since 

 many are more highly developed in the 

 male sex and at breeding-time, we must 

 conclude that they are of value in attracting 

 and holding the attention of the females 



Portrait of a Demoiselle Crane 



A Dandy in E-very Line. 



turnal habits, is recorded among birds, such 

 as exists in moles and bats. 



The eyes of the woodcock show an in- 

 teresting adaptation to its habits. The bird 

 feeds at night in marshes, probing the mud 

 for w^orms, and, being in frequent danger 

 of attack from owls or other foes, it has 

 need of constant vigilance. So we find that 

 its eyes, which are large and lustrous, are 

 placed far back on its head, and also up 

 near the top of the skull. Useless in guid- 

 ing the bird in its search for food, they have 

 become altered in size and position, and so 

 best fulfill their function of aiding their 



during the period of courtship. 



What a list of these crests we may com- 

 pile in a walk through a zoological park! 

 The photographs show the grace and deli- 

 cacy of these feathers, to which words can 

 add nothing. Concealed crests bring to 

 mind the Kingbird and the Ruby-crowned 

 Kinglet, both of which derive their names 

 from their crowns of ruby. It is said that 

 the former bird is aided in its search for 

 food by the bright spot of color which, 

 flower-like when exposed, attracts insects. 

 This, however, should be confirmed before 

 being accepted as a fact ; although in, a 



