NIGHT AND DAY HUNTERS 175 



Owls have a peculiarly flexible, reversible hind toe; eyes 

 not capable of being rolled but set firmly in the sockets^ 

 necessitating the turning of the head to see in different di- 

 rections; feathered discs aroimd the eyes; loose, mottled 

 plumage, some species with feathered ear tufts (horns), 

 others without; hooked beaks and muscular feet for perch- 

 ing and for grasping prey and the abihty to fly almost 

 silently — these are their chief characteristics. Birds of the 

 woodland, more rarely of grassy marshes and plains, nearly 

 all nocturnal in habits, since their food consists mostly of 

 small mammals that steal abroad at night to destroy the 

 farmer's crops, the owls are among the most valuable of 

 birds to the agriculturist. Unless too large, the prey is 

 bolted entire — the hair, claws, bones, etc., being afterward 

 ejected in matted pellets. 



Why the httle screech owl should wear such freaky 

 plumage as that described above — rusty red one time, 

 mottled gray and black another, without reference to age, 

 sex, or season, is one of the bird mysteries awaiting solu- 

 tion. Frequently birds of the same brood will be wearing 

 dififerent colored feathers. In the transition from one 

 phase to another, many variations of color and markings 

 appear; but however clothed, we may certainly know the 

 little screech owl by its prominent ear tufts or horns, taken 

 in connection with its small size. Like the little saw-whet 

 owl, which, however, wears no horns, people who live in 

 cities are most familiar with it on women's hats, worn en- 

 tire or cut up in sections. 



A weird, sweet, whistled shivering tremolo from under 

 our very windows startles us, as the uncanny voices of all 

 owls do, however familiar we may be with the little 

 screecher. Are any superstitions more absurd than those 



