242 
STRIGIDJE, ok OWLS. 
We now enter among what are familiarly known 
as the nocturnal birds of prey, and are often looked 
upon with superstition, from invading the silence 
of the night with their grotesque appearance, or 
their loud and peculiarly melancholy cries or hoot- 
ings. The Strigidw, or Owls, as a family, are com- 
paratively very little known, and, consequently, 
the typical forms for an arrangement have been 
only artificially pointed out. In Great Britain, 
the members of it are limited in numbers, amount- 
ing to six or seven species, and some of these 
are of extreme rarity, and only partial or periodi- 
cal visiters. They fill, during the night, the same 
offices which the bolder hunting Falcons perform 
in the open day, and serve to keep in check the 
overrunning of those small mammalia to which 
Nature has also allotted a “ nightly season." For 
this purpose their various organs are beautifully 
suited ; their vision is acute, though not adapted 
for the glare of noon-day ; their ears are contrived 
to catch sound in the broadest way, and possess a 
delicate perception ; while their plumage is of the 
softest texture, “ falling gently on the air." The. 
wings are constructed for a light, buoyant, and 
noiseless flight ; for, independent of soft and downy 
