THE SCREECH OWL 115 



little mouse ? (It has large, bright eyes. These are 

 in front of its head, so that it can fix both upon one 

 object.) Study the eye. How large the pupil is ! 

 Why? Of what does it remind you? Notice the 

 yellow curtain — iris — which surrounds this pupil. 

 Only a little of it shows at night. Why not? 

 Each eye is surrounded by a disk of short, stiff 

 feathers. Have a screech owl in a cage in the 

 class if possible. 



Let us see how screech owls catch and eat mice. 

 Where do they find them? (In shocks of corn, in 

 their field nests, about barns and corn cribs, running 

 over the snow.) How do they catch them ? (Swoop 

 down upon them and grasp them with their long, 

 sharp claws.) Study the very sharp, long, strong, 

 curved claws on the strong flexible toes, as to their 

 adaptability for catching and holding prey. Notice 

 the reversible outer toe. How does the owl use it ? 

 We are very glad that the owl kills the little mouse 

 almost instantly. 



How does it eat the mouse ? (Often tosses it up 

 with its bill in such a way that the head comes down 

 into the owl's mouth; then it makes one big gulp, 

 but often a second is needed before the mouse is 

 down, tail and all.) Are you surprised that it eats the 



