EAGLE-0 WLS. 
16s 
It is considered a true friend to the farmer, as it lives almost exclusively on mice 
and other small rodents and the larger insects. Hollow apple and oak trees are 
its favourite nesting-resorts; the eggs, usually five or six in number, being laid 
on the bare wood. 
Eagle Owls The S reat l 10me( l owls, or eagle-owls, include the largest and 
most powerful representatives of the entire order, but few of the 
species falling short of 20 inches in length. Allied to the screech-owls, they 
eagle-owl (J nat. size). 
may be distinguished by their relatively shorter wings, which never reach within 
a considerable distance of the end of the tail; while the great size of the ear- 
tufts and the beautifully barred plumage aids in recognising these magnificent 
birds. Although the toes may be sometimes bare or but sparsely feathered, the 
metatarsus is always plumed throughout. The beak is short and strong, with a 
compressed tip, and the large nostrils are either oval or rounded. Of eagle- 
owls there are nearly a score of species, ranging over the greater part of the 
Old and New Worlds, although unrepresented in Australasia. As being the only 
