340 LAND-BIRDS. 



Owls especially, eject in pellets only what is indigestible. Their 

 only notes are said to be hisses or grunts. The flawks, on the 

 other hand, possess various screams or whining whistles, while 

 the Owls are famous for their ludicrous or doleful cries, and 

 for their hooting. 



§ 26. There are many things which cannot be defined ex- 

 cept in their typical states, and, in the classification of birds, 

 the tyj)ical species often characterize a group by certain fea- 

 tures, which species evidently allied may possess only in part. 

 Thus the Owls may be defined as " nocturnal birds of prey," 

 though some kinds hunt in daylight like the Hawks. All our 

 iStJ'igidce, however, possess the following structural features 

 (besides those which characterize all Raptores) : head large, 

 and capable of being turned in every direction without any 

 movement of the body ; eyes looking more or less directly for- 

 ward ; ear-feathers often forming noticeable tufts or " horns " ; 

 nostrils concealed ; tarsi feathered ; general plumage very soft 

 and thick. The colors are sober and much variegated, but 

 alike in both sexes. The female is generally larger than the 

 male. 



The Owls fly silently. Kichard Hill, Esq., in Gosse's " Birds 

 of Jamaica," says : " They search for their prey, as if they 

 were pursuing it with the vigilance of the hound. They skim 

 along the surface of the earth, glide among trees, explore ave- 

 nues, sweep round, rise and fall, wheel short, and dart down, 

 but never sail in circles. Their wide staring eyes are placed 

 in what may be called their face, being right forward in front, 

 and have scarcely any field of vision laterally. They there- 

 fore hunt with a forward and downward gaze, like dogs over 

 a field. The globe of the eye of these nocturnal Raptores, be- 

 ing immovably fixed in the socket by a strong elastic cartila- 

 ginous case, in the form of a truncated cone, they have to 

 turn their heads to view objects out of the path of flight ; and 

 their neck is so adapted for this exertion, that they can with 

 ease turn round the head in almost a complete circle, without 

 moving the body." 



Some Owls lay their eggs on the ground or in the hollows 

 of trees, but most kinds build a rude nest of sticks, or select 



