CHAPTER LXXXIX. 



The Little Owl. 



Strix passerina, Lin. ; La Cheveche, ou petite 

 Chouette, Buf. 



Desoeiption and Chaeacter. — The Little Owl has a some- 

 what sinister appearance, which is by no means inviting ; 

 the face has a weird, perverse expression, and there is an 

 appearance of malignant cruelty conveyed by the small, eager 

 eyes and contracted muscles of the face, and an impertinent, 

 disagreeable stare when the bird looks directly towards you. It 

 is only a small bird, but is more ferocious and cruel than 

 either the White or Tawny Owl ; it pulls its prey to 

 pieces in a vicious and heartless way, often before the life 

 of its victim is extinct. 



The Little Owl is well formed, and of good carriage, and 

 measures from Sin. to 9in. in length, of which the tail 

 occupies 3in.; its width is 18in. The bill is brown, and 

 tipped with faint yellow. The irides are pale yellow in 

 summer and olive colour in winter. The head, back, and wing 

 coverts, are pale greyish olive brown ; the top of the head, 

 scapulars, and wing coverts, are variously spotted with white ; 

 the radiated circles surrounding the cheeks are white, mottled 

 with black, the feathers being tipped with that colour. 

 The primary feathers are dark brown, relieved by four or 

 five rows of round, white spots, forming oblique bars across 

 the wings ; the tail is pale brown, transversely barred with 

 russet brown on each side of the shaft, and tipped with 



