228 



ZOOLOGY. 



nerva an air of consummate wisdom. Owls capture living 

 mice and other small nocturnal animals, ejecting from the 

 mouth a ball of the indigestible portions of their meal. 

 The little burrowing owl of tlie western plains {Spheotyto 

 cunicularia, var. hypogma) consorts with the prairie-dogs 

 and rattlesnakes, nesting in the holes 

 when deserted. Their rusty, dull hues 

 assimilate them with the color of the soil 

 they inhabit. Our largest owl is the 

 great gray owl {Syrniuni cinereum); it 

 is nearly J metre (2| feet) in length, and 

 is an inhabitant of Arctio America. A 

 visitor in winter from the Arctio regions 

 is the snowy owl [Nyctea nivea) , •which. 

 is nearly f m., or two feet long. The 

 great horned owl {Bubo Virginianus) is 

 about tlie same size as the snowy owl, 

 but has two conspicuous ear-tufts, add- 

 ing to its height and its general impres- 

 siveness as a bird of more than ordinary 

 sagacity. 



Order 9. Psittaci (Parrots). — Of more 



intelligence and gifted with the power 



of speech are the parrots. The tongue is 



large, soft, and remarkably mobile, as 



the muscles at the base are more dis- 



oB) and tinctly developed than in other birds, and 



lower larynx is complicated with 



of the cavity'coveTBii tlircc pairs of musclcs; hence tliese birds 



by the mtermaxillary. i f t • ■ ^ /» j i i 



are wondcriul mimickers of the human 

 voice, imitating the laughter or crying of babies, and re- 

 peating brief sentences, while some sing. In proportion to 

 their capacity for talking, parrots command a very high 

 market price. Their toes are in pairs, the bill is cered and 

 very stout, adapted for cracking hard nuts. The wish-bone 

 is sometimes rudimentary, and the sternum entire, not 

 Botched. Parrots are monogamous, like the hawks, and 



Fio, 3B9.— Skull of Ge- 

 ciiuis virldis L., show- 

 ing the asymmetrical 

 position of the horns 

 Icornua Uriguos) 

 their exten?. .„.. 

 through the right na- tllC 

 sal opening to theend 



