CLASS II. AVES: OEDER 1. RAPTORES. 
67 
upon the air, moving as if by volition, bending, winding, and circling bitlier and thitbcr, noise- 
less as a shadow, and with the utmost grace and facility. His large eyes — before so vacant — are 
now full of expression, and like those of a cat, penetrate the darkest caverns, glance into the 
crannies of rocks and walls, and sweep the whole view with a keen, rapid, and sagacious scrutiny. 
He is not solitary, for his kindred are with hira, and he enjoys all the pleasures of society. He 
sings, and there are those around who delight in his performance. In short, it was the will of the 
Creator that even the night should not be wholly barren of life and enjoyment, and so He made 
the Owl, and various other creatures, to fill this vacuum, and no reflecting mind can fail to remark 
with wonder and admiration, how perfectly these creatures are adapted to their condition. 
The form and structure of the owl are so peculiar as to arrest the attention of every beholder. 
The large, cat-like 
head and face, some- 
times set off by tufts 
of feathers whi ch 
have the appearance 
of ears, constitute 
their most character- 
istic features. The 
large eyes, directed in 
front, inclosed bv 
feathers in the form 
of a shell, give added 
effect to the staring 
expression of the 
countenance. Their 
plumage is soft and 
downy, the edges be- 
ing recurved so as to 
render their flight noiseless ; the eyes are fixed in 
their sockets, so that the bird, in following an object 
wnth its sight, is obliged to turn its head, whence the 
old joke, that a man by going round and round be- 
neath a tree on which an owl is sitting, will cause it 
to twist its he^d off. Though the appearance of the 
bird is plump, its body is in fact little more than skin 
and bones. The hearing is said to be more acute 
than that of any other member of the feathered 
tribes. The wings are short, the bill hooked, the 
feet similar to those of other predacious birds. 
The eggs are generally two, sometimes three or four. 
They feed for the most part on mice, moles, birds, 
and insects. Most of those found in the United States are in some degree migratory. These 
are the general characteristics ; but among the numerous species there are striking peculiarities. 
The owls — of which one hundred and forty species have been described, forty of them belong- 
ing to our hemisphere— are divided into several families by some naturalists ; we shall, however, 
follow those who divide them only into genera and species, first noticing those which are called 
Day Owls^ and then those which are more strictly Mght Otvls. 
Genus STJRNIA : this includes those species which resemble in their form, aspect and habits the 
falconidfe, and hence are called HawJc-Oiols. Their characteristics are : the head deprived of ears 
or tuft; the concha small, and without operculum; the bill short; the legs feathered to the 
feet ; the wings obtuse ; the tail long and tapering. The species are partially diurnal. 
The Ha^vk Owl, Day Owl, or Canada Owl, 8. funerea, the S. caparacoch of Chenu, the 
Long-tailed Siberian Owl of Buffon, Paypaw Theecawseto of the Cree Indiana, the Ood-no- 
HMAD OF THE EAGLE OWL 
FOOT OF THE EAGLE OWL. 
