566 
BIRD-LIFE o 
for its joyousness. Ever dull, miserable, savage, and ill- 
tempered, without either rhyme or reason; it is in every 
way the exact opposite of the diurnal bird of prey, though 
both plunder and murder alike; still there is a great 
difference in the ways and means adopted by the two. 
The Eagle Owl is the largest of all known Owls : it is 
two feet long, and six feet in expanse of wing, and 
probably owes its title of Gross Herzog—Grand Duke— 
to its great size ; in Germany this appellation is used as 
a nickname, though Grand Due is the common name used 
in France. We Germans, as also the Spaniards and Arabs, 
have given this bird names which have its call for their 
origin, such as Ouhoo, Boohoo, Schoohoo, Booh, Huo, 
Hoob, Hiroo, Schoobnt, Schoofoot, and Hoohoui, and 
occasionally Auf or Gaauf. The Arabs call it Boohme; 
the Spaniards, Boohoo; and the Italians, Gufo. All these 
names are echoes of its cry, which rings so weird and 
ghost-like through the midnight air, and has in some 
way caused the bird to* be looked upon as playing an 
important part in the legends of the “ wild chase.” 
Our bird prefers the rocky and mountainous forests to 
those of the plains : the more wild and solitary the forest, 
the deeper the glen, and the steeper the precipice, the 
better is it pleased. The Eagle Owl is fond of ancient 
ruins, castles, and monasteries, whose walls afford suit¬ 
able crevices and niches wherein to hide: one is sure to 
meet with it in highland woods and forests, or amongst 
large precipitous rocks. At Jativa, in Spain, I shot a 
young bird on a rocky precipice, where the nest was 
placed: this species appeared to be a regular inhabitant 
of the turrets of the Alhambra, at any rate, it has been 
for centuries the subject of many a legend in those parts. 
It is a non-migrating bird, only making short journeys, 
