56 BRITISH BIRDS, WITH THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 
Order—STRIGES. Family—S TRIGIDA. 
THE OWLS. 
HE Owls form a distinct and well-known family of raptorial birds, of 
somewhat grotesque appearance, which discharge very useful functions in 
the economy of Nature, as they keep under the mischievous smaller rodents, 
and prevent their multiplying to an extent that would portend destruction to 
crops. The typical Owls, such as our English Barn-Owl and Tawny Owl, 
are nocturnal, roosting throughout the day in places where they can avoid the 
light, and issuing forth at dusk to commence hunting for their prey which is 
chiefly active during the night. The Owls are beautifully equipped for the 
work they have to perform, having large and sensitive eyes, large ears, enabling 
them to detect the least rustle of a mouse in the grass; long and rounded 
wings, of soft and broad flight feathers, so that they steal noiselessly upon 
the unsuspecting prey, and sharp and powerful talons for the fatal pounce. 
Their heads are large and rounded; each side of the face is formed of a mask 
or disk of feathers radiating from the prominent eye, and concentrating upon 
it every ray of light; this disk, in the typical Owls, is complete and almost 
circular, and is bordered by a ruff of short closely set feathers; the whole 
plumage is soft and downy; the legs and toes are clothed with feathers; the 
tail is generally short; the beak is short, stout, and decurved from the base. 
Owing to their long and pointed claws Owls are bad walkers, and can only 
progress upon the ground by awkward leaps; when they alight upon a flat 
surface three of their four toes are directed to the front, and the body is 
bowed forwards to prevent the tail from touching the ground; when they 
alight upon a bough or any elevated perch two of the claws, one of which, 
the outer, is reversible, are turned backwards to aid in the grasp, and the 
position of the bird is then upright. The cry of Owls consists either of hoots, 
shrieks, or other notes more or less melancholy and discordant; they also hiss 
and snore, and make a sharp sound by snapping their beaks. They make little 
if any nest, and choose holes in trees or walls, or crannies in cliffs and ruined 
buildings, or nests of other birds, such as Crows and Magpies, or squirrels’ 
dreys; or else lay their eggs in rabbits’ earths, on the ledges of cliffs, or 
