248 
OWLS. 
PLATE XXVI. 
Head of Barn Orel, natural size. 
In tliis bird there is a very great perfection in the 
organs, but, at the same time, there is an apparent 
deficiency in some of them when compared with 
the corresponding parts of another form, that 
of Otus. In the White Owl, the plumage is of 
the greatest softness and pliability ; the feathered 
ruff and disk, in the centre of which the eyes 
are placed, are ■wide and expansive, and the 
eye externally appears full; but this important 
organ, when removed from the socket, is neither 
proportionally larger, nor is it surrounded with a 
bony ring of much power. The separation of the 
ruff’ of feathers surrounding the disk opens very 
■widely to display what may be called the conch of 
the ear, and the operculum is large and rounded, 
but the external opening of the ear itself is small. 
The shape of the bill in this form is lengthened, 
and the gape is wide. The habits of the White 
Owl are more familiar than those of any other 
European species. Though in part arboreal, it 
prefers rocks and ruined buildings for its retreat, 
and even the less frequented parts of inhabited 
houses. It is easily approached by day, and be- 
comes tame in confinement. 
In the genus Otus , composed of a portion of 
