(n 
BARRED OWL. 
those usually found on flycatchers may have the same intention 
to fulfil ; for, on the slightest touch of the point of any of 
these hairs, the nictitant membrane was instantly thrown over 
the eye. 
The female is twenty-two inches long, and four feet in 
extent; the chief difference of colour consists in her wings 
being broadly spotted with white ; the shoulder being a plain 
chocolate brown ; the tail extends considerably beyond the 
tips of the wings ; the bill is much larger, and of a more 
golden yellow ; iris of the eye, the same as that of the male. 
The different character of the feathers of this, and, I 
believe, of most Owls, is really surprising. Those that 
surround the bill differ little from bristles ; those that surround 
the region of the eyes are exceedingly open, and unwebbed ; 
these are bounded by another set, generally proceeding from 
the external edge of the ear, of a most peculiar small, narrow, 
velvety kind, whose fibres are so exquisitely fine, as to 
be invisible to the naked eye ; above, the plumage has one 
general character at the surface, calculated to repel rain and 
moisture ; but, towards the roots, it is of the most soft, loose, 
and downy substance in nature — so much so, that it may be 
touched without being felt ; the webs of the wing-quills are 
also of a delicate softness, covered with an almost imper- 
ceptible hair, and edged with a loose silky down, so that the 
owner passes through the air without interrupting the most 
profound silence. Who cannot perceive the hand of God in 
all these things ! 
