296 



FIELD, FOREST AND FARM 



great size is found in the bird's nocturnal habits. 

 Having to seek its food by a very feeble light, it 

 must, in order to see with any distinctness, have eyes 

 that admit as much light as possible; that is, eyes 

 that open very wide. 



"But this wide-openness of the eyes, so advanta- 

 geous by night, is a serious inconvenience to the owl 

 vW <s>y" ct~t> m the bright light of 



day. Dazzled, blinded, 

 by the sun's rays, the 

 bird of darkness keeps 

 itself in hiding and 

 dares not venture 

 forth; but if forced to 

 do so, it observes the 

 utmost circumspection, 

 flying with cautious 

 hesitation and by -short 

 stages. The other birds, 

 those accustomed to 

 broad daylight, come 

 Eobin redbreast and the 

 tomtit are the first to pay their compliments in this 

 manner, and are followed by the chaffinch, the jay, 

 and many others." 



"And doesn't the owl do anything to get even 

 with them?" asked Jules. 



"Very little," replied his uncle. "Perched on a 

 branch of some tree, the night bird answers its ag- 

 gressors by a grotesque balancing of its body, turn- 

 ing its large head this way and that in a ridiculous 



Barn-owl 



and insult it at will. 



