278 BIRDS OF THE NIGHT. 



is the Chimney-Swallow. This bird employs the middle 

 of the day in sleep after excessive activity from the ear- 

 liest dawn. It is seen afterwards circling about at the 

 decline of day, and is sometimes abroad in fine weather 

 the greater part of the night, when the young require 

 almost unremitted exertions on the part of the old birds 

 to procure their subsistence. 



The true nocturnal birds, of which the Owl and the 

 Whippoorwill are prominent examples, are distinguished 

 by a peculiar sensibility of the eye that enables them to 

 see clearly by twilight and in cloudy weather, "while they 

 are dazzled by the broad light of day. Their organs of 

 hearing are proportionally delicate and acute. Their 

 wing-feathers have a peculiar downy softness, so that they 

 move through the air without the usual fluttering sounds 

 that attend the flight of other birds. Hence they are 

 able to steal unawares upon their prey, and to make their 

 predal excursions without disturbing the general silence 

 of the hour. This noiseless flight is remarkable in the 

 Owl, as may be observed if a tame one is confined in a 

 room, when we can perceive his motions only by our 

 sight. It is remarkable that this peculiar structure of the 

 wing-feathers does not exist in the Woodcock, which is a 

 nocturnal feeder. Nature makes no useless provisions for 

 her creatures. Hence this bird, that obtains its food by 

 digging into the ground and takes no part of it while on 

 the wing, has no need of such a contrivance. Neither 

 stillness nor stealth would assist him in digging' for his 

 helpless prey. 



THE OWL. 



Among the nocturnal birds the most celebrated is the 

 Owl, of which there are many species, varying from the 

 size of an Eagle down to the Acadian, which is no larger 



