10 
BRITISH BIRDS* 
THE LITTLE OWL. 
(Strix Passer ina, Lin . — La petite Chouette on la Cfieveche? 
Buff.) 
The length of this bird is about nine and a half 
inches, breadth twenty-one and a half, and weight 
four ounces : the bill is of a light horn colour ; irides 
pale yellow ; the orbits black, and a patch or streak of 
that colour passes from underneath the eye to the 
beak. The circular feathers on the face are white, 
mixed or faintly streaked with pale brown, and sur- 
rounded with a border of black, somewhat divided by 
small spots of white ; the head and neck are spotted 
with pale brown and white ; the breast and belly are 
white, streaked and patched with various-sized spots of 
brown ; the legs and vent are white ; the back, wings, 
and tail are brown, somewhat inclining to olive, and 
prettily and distinctly marked with white spots. The 
legs and feet are covered with soft feathers down to 
