24 
THE OWL. 
in a very odd way. His beak, you see, has a kind 
of hook at the end of it for him to hold his prey 
with. He eats mice, and when he has got one, 
he will take hold of it in his beak, or with his foot, 
and fly with it to his mate to feed her as she sits 
on the nest. He can fly in a very soft way, so that 
the mice can not hear him till he is very near them, 
and he can thus kill a good many. His eyes are 
like a cat's eyes — they can see in the dark. His 
nest is made in . a hole in a tree, or on the beam of 
an old barn, or in the ivy of an old ruin. His cry 
is a kind of hoot, or hiss. 
The Owl, when he has just come out of the egg, 
has a soft down all over his body, even to the end 
of his toes, so that he is kept very warm, and has 
a very odd look, like a ball of wool, or fur, with 
eyes in it ! 
