BIRDS OF PREY l6l 



Unfortunately, it is usually the case that, while the four-footed cat is 

 sheltered and protected, the owl is incessantly persecuted, and frequently 

 even, in gross ignorance of its true habits, nailed to the barn door. 

 Ignorant superstition alone is accountable for this treatment of the bird. 

 Its strange shape ; its habit of turning night into day ; its noiseless, 

 stealthy flight, as it passes, like a shadow, over the sleeping earth ; its 

 weird cry, which resembles the snore of a sleeping man — all these 

 peculiarities have caused the owl to be regarded as a bird of ill-omen 

 and a foreboder of misfortune. The owl is, in truth, a peculiar bird, 

 but its peculiarities are not due to mere chance or accident, but are con- 

 ditioned by its mode of life and habits. Let us therefore inquire how — 



B. The Structure of its Body agrees with its Mode of Life. 

 i. It is a Predatory Creature. 



Consequently we find it equipped with — 



1. The beak of a raptorial bird. The upper mandible is less hooked, 

 and therefore less adapted for tearing large prey. 



2. Feet of the raptorial pattern, as in the buzzard (which see). The feet 

 are, however, also adapted for climbing, since the outermost of the three 

 anteriorly-placed and sharply-clawed toes is capable of being directed 

 backward — reversible toe (see woodpecker). 



3. It swallows its food whole or in large pieces ; the organs of 

 digestion are accordingly constructed like those of the buzzard. It also 

 vomits the undigested portions of the food in the form of pellets. 



ii. The Owl is a Nocturnal Bird of Prey. 



1. It spends the day asleep in some safe hiding-place, such as a barn, 

 a rock cavern, a church-tower, an old building, where it also breeds. 

 Like all other cave-breeding birds, however, it never builds a proper 

 nest. (Why is this unnecessary?) The eggs are pure white, not 

 requiring any protective colouring, as in their dark recesses they are 

 withdrawn from the notice of would-be plunderers. (Compare, on the 

 other hand, the lark and the partridge.) Its dusky plumage renders 

 it indistinguishable in its hiding-place, and quite unnoticeable at night. 

 The colour is grey above, rufous below, with numerous white and brown 

 arrowhead - shaped spots. Around the eyes and beak the feathers 

 are arranged in the form of a heart-shaped disc (see Section ii. 4), or 

 " veil " (hence in German called "veiled owl ")• 



2. With the approach of night the owl is roused into action, this 

 being the time when the mice abandon their nooks and crannies. With 

 ghost-like silence the bird stealthily flies hither and thither, listening 



