THE OWL 
WLS have long been considered the 
wisest of birds, probably because 
their great eyes look like spectacles, 
and their crooked beak like an intel- 
lectual nose. If the owl’s form were 
the result of its thought, it would 
indeed merit the reputation of wis- 
dom for it is a bird marvelously adapted for its 
life. 
It is a creature of the night, and its great eyes 
have an iris that opens wide in the dark, and shuts 
to a little round pupil in daylight. The owl, like” 
the cat, sees in the dark by using the light twice, and 
this enables it to fly about avoiding branches and 
obstacles; but it gains its knowledge of the where- 
abouts of its prey largely through its acute hearing. 
Its ear instead of being a mere opening in the head, 
consists of a fold of skin, forming a channel which ex- 
tends from above the eye around to the side of the 
throat. It can detect the slightest rustle of mouse or 
bird, and pounces in the direction from which the 
sound comes. It seizes its prey in its sharp claws; 
the outer toe can be moved back at will in order to 
give it a better grasp. The curved beak is used to 
tear its victim in pieces to be swallowed. 
In order to secure its prey, the owl must move 
silently; its plumage is very fluffy, and its wing 
feathers instead of having stiff edges, like those of 
other birds, are bordered with soft fringes which 
cushion the stroke of the wing on the air, and 
render the flight noiseless. 
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