Concerning Eyes. 193 
the ground. The black horns stood erect, while in 
the centre of the wheel-shaped head the beak 
snapped incessantly, producing a sound resembling 
the clicking of a sewing-machine. This was a 
suitable setting for the pair of magnificent furious 
eyes, on which I gazed with a kind of fascination, 
not unmixed with fear when I remembered the 
agony of pain suffered on former occasions from 
sharp, crooked talons driven into me to the bone. 
The irides were of a bright orange colour, but 
every time I attempted to approach the bird they 
kindled into great globes of quivering yellow flame, 
the black pupils being surrounded by a scintillating 
crimson light which threw out minute yellow sparks 
into the air. When I retired from the bird this 
preternatural fiery aspect would instantly vanish. 
The dragon eyes of that Magellanic owl haunt 
me still, and when I remember them, the bird’s 
death still weighs on my conscience, albeit by 
killing it I bestowed on it that dusty immortality 
which is the portion of stuffed specimens in a 
museum. 
The’ question as to the cause of this fiery 
appearance is one hard to answer. We know that 
the source of the luminosity in owls’ and cats’ 
eyes is the tapedum lucidum—the light-reflecting 
membrane between the retina and the sclarotic 
coat of the eyeball; but the mystery remains. 
When with the bird, I particularly noticed that 
every time I retired the nictitating membrane would 
immediately cover the eyes and obscure them for 
) 
