OWLS. 
STORY OF pel’s OWL. 
Much interest is taken in this class of birds, and great 
is the mystery and superstition supposed to surround 
it, especially hy the most ignorant and untaught of 
every nation. This arises generally from the fact that 
owls roam about at night in search of food, their eyesight 
being peculiarly adapted to enable them to see in the 
gloom or twilight, and the structure of the wings being 
such that they can fly unheard. The noiseless flight, the 
large and glaring eyes, the hollow and dismal voice, heard 
in the still darkness of night in woods or in old untenanted 
castles or buildings, all tend to encourage and heighten 
the idea of supernatural agencies (the bird being often 
regarded as a ghost or a spirit of darkness), which idea once 
possessed is rarely if ever dispelled. The stoutest heart 
might quail if startled by a combination of these circum- 
stances, and have a grave suspicion aroused as to the 
true nature of these apparently unearthly midnight dis- 
turbers. No class of animals can furnish a more abundant 
crop of wild stories and frightful midnight alarms than 
the owls. As an instance of the former we cannot do 
better than give an extract from the Ibis, referring to 
Pel’s owl (yScotopelia peli), vol. i. 1869, p. 447, which is 
as follows : — 
303 
