20 
ocular apparatus. First of all, the owl has his eyes placed in front 
of his skull, looking straight forward, just like man and the other 
Simias. Like the higher apes, also, he has a well-defined macular 
region and binocular vision. At the outset let me say that the pop¬ 
ular notion regarding the owl’s daylight vision is incorrect. That 
he does see better at night than other birds is quite true, as the 
coloration of his fundus amply proves, but that he is blind by day is 
far from the truth. From observations made by myself in the 
London Zoo, from the experience of the keepers and other observers, 
I think we may conclude that almost all the owls have good vision 
both by day and night. Bendire, 9 for instance, remarks: “The 
Barred Owl is nocturnal in its habits, but nevertheless sees well 
enough, and even occasionally hunts in the daytime, especially dur¬ 
ing cloudy weather. I believe that owls in general prefer to remain 
hidden during the daytime on account of attracting the attention of 
nearly every feathered inhabitant of the vicinity, who instantly 
attack and annoy them in every possible manner the moment they 
leave their retreats.” Although owls live almost exclusively on 
grasshoppers, mice, frogs, etc., yet few of them are able now and 
then to resist the attractions of a nice downy chicken or other bird— 
habits that justify the warfare carried on against them whenever or 
wherever they are found by other birds. As the owl has practically 
no noctural bird enemies he does not need to see behind him. His 
ocular apparatus is accordingly arranged to intercept with the high¬ 
est degree of efficiency all the light rays, however faint, that fall 
upon his retina from the front. He is thus able to sit at night 
entirely motionless and watch for his prey without exposing himself 
to view. 
The background of the Tawny Owl’s eye (See Plate I) at first 
glance reminds one of the light-haired Caucasian. It is yellowish- 
red with the chorioidal vessels conspicuous. The macular region is 
a round, red disk surrounded by a bright reflex ring of silver-gray. 
The latter is often so marked that it resembles an exaggerated 
“bull’s-eye-lantern” macula—occasionally seen in human eyes—and 
the reflex may be so dazzling as to interfere with a clear view of the 
region itself. Surrounding the red macula is a very large, concentric 
area (which reaches to the nerve-head) that looks like a gray haze. 
O. Life Histories of North American Birds, 1892, p. 336. 
