CHAPTER IX.

_BIRDS OF PREY AND OWLS._

BIRDS OF PREY.

At one time the boundaries of this group were much larger than now, for within them were included at least one form which has since proved to belong to the Crane Tribe: we allude to the Seriema (page 428), and also to the Owls. This classification was based on the very remarkable superficial resemblance to the typical birds of prey which those forms bear. Modern ornithologists regard as birds of prey only the forms known as the New World Vultures, the Secretary-bird, and the Falcons, Eagles, Vultures, Buzzards, and the numerous smaller forms commonly classed as "Hawks."

THE NEW WORLD VULTURES.

These may be distinguished from their distant relatives of the Old World by the fact that the nostrils are not divided from one another by a partition, and by their much weaker feet. The head and neck in all, as in the true vultures, is more or less bare, and, furthermore, is often very brilliantly coloured, in which last particular these birds differ from the typical vultures.

One of the most important members of the group is the CONDOR, one of the largest of flying birds, and when on the wing the most majestic. "When the condors," says Darwin, "are wheeling in a flock round and round any spot, their flight is beautiful. Except when rising off the ground, I do not recollect ever having seen one of these birds flap its wings. Near Lima I watched several for nearly half an hour, without once taking off my eyes; they moved in large curves, sweeping in circles, descending and ascending, without giving a single flap." One which he shot measured, from tip to tip of the fully expanded wings, 8½ feet.

The condor, like its smaller relatives, hunts by sight, and not, as was at one time believed, by smell, feeding on the dead bodies of guanacos which have died a natural death or been killed by pumas, and upon other dead animals. In the neighbourhood where sheep and goats are kept, they are much dreaded, as they will attack the young kids and lambs. The flock-owners on this account wage constant war against them, capturing them by enclosing a carcase within a narrow space, and when the condors are gorged galloping up on horseback and killing them, for when this bird has not space to run it cannot rise from the ground. Sometimes the trees on which they roost are marked, and when night falls a man climbs the tree and captures them with a noose, for they are very heavy sleepers.

The condor ranges from the Andes of Ecuador, Peru, and Chili southwards to the Rio Negro on the east coast of Patagonia. It lays two large white eggs on a shelf of bare rock projecting from precipitous cliffs, and the young are said to be unable to fly till after they are a year old. As will be seen in the photographs, the head of the male is crowned by a bare, fleshy caruncle, which, like the surrounding bare skin, is of a dull reddish colour: lower down the neck is a frill of pure white down, which forms a conspicuous contrast with the glossy black plumage of the rest of the body and wings.

The KING-VULTURE is a much smaller bird, but the bare parts of the head are much more brilliantly, even gaudily coloured, the combinations being orange, purple, and crimson. The plumage is creamy white and black. It is a comparatively rare bird, and but little is known concerning its breeding habits. The female is much more soberly clad than her mate. The king-vulture has a more northerly range than the condor, extending from Brazil to Mexico, Texas, and Florida.

The commonest of the New World vultures is the TURKEY-BUZZARD, which is found over the whole of temperate and tropical America. Of the four species commonly known as Turkey-buzzards, three are exclusively South American--the fourth ranges as far north as New York and British Columbia, and in the Southern and Middle United States is very common, perambulating the streets or perching on the house-tops.

Other species are the small BLACK VULTURE, a dull, uninteresting-looking bird, and the CALIFORNIAN VULTURE. This latter is a large species, and in the expanse of wing may even exceed the condor. At one time its extermination seemed certain, owing to its falling a victim to the poisoned meat laid out by the stock-keepers for carnivorous mammals, but in the more barren and inaccessible regions it appears to be on the increase.

THE SECRETARY-BIRD.

The second of the three main divisions into which the Birds of Prey are divided is reserved for the SECRETARY-BIRD. This bird derives its name from the crest of long feathers which bear a fanciful resemblance to the quill-pens a clerk is supposed to stick above his ear. It differs from all the other members of the Hawk Tribe in the exceedingly long legs, which in the young are said to be so fragile as to fracture if the bird is suddenly alarmed. It feeds chiefly on insects and reptiles, especially snakes, for which last it seems to have a special liking. It attacks even the most venomous species, striking at them with its powerful wings and pounding them with its feet, jumping upon them with great force, till rendered helpless, when they are at once swallowed head-foremost. On account of its great value as a snake-eater it has been accorded special protection, though unfortunately there is a tendency on the part of English settlers to relax this, on account of the fact that it will occasionally eat animals coming within the scope of "game." Valuable as the latter may be, there yet seems no justification for such a course.

The secretary-bird, which is a South African species, though extending northwards as far as Abyssinia, builds a huge nest of sticks in low bushes, under which will often be found numerous nests of the Cape sparrow, apparently the only available site on the veldt, where bushes are scarce. Here the sparrows are efficiently protected from the icy winds which so frequently sweep across this region, and apparently suffer no fear of personal violence from the fierce owners of the domicile above them. When sitting, the female secretary is fed by her mate. The young do not appear to leave the nest for five or six months. They are frequently taken from the nest and brought up as household pets, becoming not only very tame, but exceedingly useful.

THE EAGLE AND FALCON TRIBE.

From the perplexing wealth of species displayed among the forms herein bracketed together, we can only select a few examples, which embrace, however, all the more important and interesting forms.

Beginning with the more lowly, we start with those members of small or medium size known as KITES, and as an example of the group take the species known in the British Islands as the KITE, or GLEAD. In former days this bird was extremely common in England, being found in numbers not only in the rural districts, but in London itself, where, as old records of the fifteenth century show, it occurred in such numbers near London Bridge as to excite the wonder of foreigners visiting the city. These birds found an abundance of food in the garbage of the streets, and also of the Thames itself--"an observation," remarks Mr. Finn, "which throws a lurid light upon the city sanitation."

In the days of falconry the kite was royal game, not, however, by legal enactment, but by reason of the fact that none but specially trained falcons could secure a prey with such wonderful powers of flight. Consequently the price of a falcon which had attained this degree of skill was beyond the purse of any but a king.

Save on the wing, the kite is not a handsome bird, its general colour being of a pale reddish brown; but those who have had the good fortune to watch its flight are one and all impressed. Cowper admirably expresses the general admiration in the lines:--

Kites that swim sublime In still repeated circles, screaming loud.

The kites may be distinguished from other members of the tribe by their forked tails. Somewhat of a scavenger, as we have already hinted, the kite feeds also upon such small game as moles, frogs, young birds, rabbits, snakes, and fish. Its partiality for young birds caused it to be much dreaded in the farmyard in the days when it was common; and when, with the introduction of modern and improved firearms, game-preserving became more strenuously prosecuted, its doom was sealed, for a ceaseless war was waged against it, which ended only with its extermination.

Nearly allied to the Kites, the HONEY-BUZZARDS next claim attention. The name Honey-buzzard is a misnomer, for honey forms no part of the bird's food. This species exhibits, however, a quite remarkable partiality for the immature stages of wasps and bees, the nests of which it tears in pieces with its feet, so as to lay bare the coveted morsels, devouring them on the spot, perfectly regardless of the stings of the infuriated insects, which seem unable to penetrate its feathers. When its favourite food is not to be had, it will feed upon corn, earth-worms, beetles, slugs, small birds' eggs, and moles--a diet sufficiently strange for a bird of prey. Honey-buzzards appear to be exemplary parents, for they are said to construct a bower of leafy boughs above the nest to screen the young from the sun, the boughs being replaced as they wither by fresh ones.

The honey-buzzard occurs but rarely in England, and nowhere appears to be a very common bird, though it is said to be more frequently met with in Arabia and Egypt than elsewhere. On migration, however, it appears in unusually large numbers, the late Lord Lilford recording an occasion when he observed many hundreds crossing the Straits of Gibraltar from Spain to Africa. These were apparently on their autumnal migration to warmer winter quarters.

The dash, energy, and courage which we are wont to associate with the Hawk Tribe have certainly not been manifest in the members of the order which we have examined so far; but these attributes will be evident enough in the majority of the species with which we are now about to deal. One of the most interesting of these fiercer forms is the OSPREY, or FISHING-HAWK. As its name implies, it feeds largely upon fish, which it captures with great dexterity, seizing them either with its feet from the surface of the water, or by plunging entirely beneath the surface, when it disappears amid a shower of spray, to emerge a moment later with a fish writhing in its talons. To ensure a firm grip of its slippery prey, the soles of its feet are armed with rough tubercles, whilst the foot is furthermore remarkable in that the outer toe can be turned backwards, so as to lie parallel with the hind toe--an arrangement rare in birds of the Hawk Tribe, but characteristic of the Owls and some other birds. At times, it would seem, the osprey seizes a fish too large to be raised from the water, when, owing to the firm hold which the claws have taken, the bird is unable to release itself, and is speedily dragged beneath the surface and drowned. Some have suggested that the bird falls a victim, not to inability to free itself, but rather to its obstinacy.

The osprey is now rare in Great Britain, though it breeds occasionally in the wilder parts of Scotland. It enjoys an extensive range, however, being found all over the world. In America it appears to be very common. On an island "off the eastern extremity of Long Island, New York," writes Professor Newton, "300 nests were counted. The old birds were rearing their young close together, living as peaceably as so many rooks, and were equally harmless to other birds." Colonies of this kind are rare among birds of prey.

Whilst the fiercer raptorial birds, which hunt and kill their prey, live only upon small or medium-sized animals, a certain section, known as the VULTURES, feed upon the carcases of the largest mammals which they find either in the throes of death or already dead, and even far advanced in decomposition. Gathering to the feast in large crowds, even the largest bodies are soon demolished; and on this account the vultures are to be reckoned amongst the most useful of birds, speedily removing matter which in hot countries would rapidly endanger the health of neighbouring communities.

Many years ago a great controversy was waged over the question of the faculty which guides the vulture in the discovery of its food, since it was a matter of common knowledge that the traveller might sweep the horizon in vain for a sign of these birds, yet, should a camel from a caravan fall out and die, or men fall in warfare, within an incredibly short space of time a crowd of vultures would be squabbling over the dead. Some held that the vulture was guided by scent, others by sight, and this latter view is now almost universally accepted. The bird's natural habit of soaring at an immense height enables it to survey not only immense tracts of country, but the actions of its neighbours soaring at the same altitude, though perhaps miles away. So soon as one descries food it betrays the fact by its actions, making off in the direction of the prospective feast; it is then followed immediately by its yet more distant neighbour, and this by a third, and so the first serves as a guide to all the other soaring birds for miles around. This flight has been admirably expressed by Longfellow in "Hiawatha."

We need here mention only one or two of the more important species of vulture, and among these one of the most interesting is the LAMMERGEIR, or BEARDED VULTURE. This species is one of the least vulture-like of the tribe, not only in general appearance, but also in habits, and is to be regarded as near the ancestral stock, whose descendants have become more and more addicted to feeding upon dead bodies.

The lammergeir, or bearded vulture, is a bird of large size and majestic flight, differing from all other vultures in that the head and neck are clothed in feathers, whilst the nostrils are covered by long bristles. Beneath the bill hangs a tuft of bristles like those covering the nostrils; hence its name of Bearded Vulture; and this, coupled with a remarkable red rim to the eyes, gives the bird an almost diabolical appearance. It lives partly upon living animals and partly upon carrion, bones apparently being especially relished; these it breaks by dropping them from a height upon the rocks below, probably to get at the marrow. Land-tortoises are treated in a similar manner, and it was possibly this species which caused the death of the poet Æschylus, on whose bare head a tortoise is alleged to have been dropped. It was at one time common in Europe, and is still fairly numerous in West Africa, though rare in the East and South. Many stories are told of its strength and daring, some of which concern the carrying off of young children; but these are probably mythical, modern observers generally agreeing that the bird is by nature far from courageous.

The more typical vultures differ from the lammergeir in having the head and neck more or less bare, and often conspicuously coloured, or covered with a short velvety down. The CINEREOUS, GRIFFON, PONDICHERRY, and EGYPTIAN VULTURES may be cited as examples of these.

The CINEREOUS or BLACK VULTURE is a heavy and repulsive-looking bird, feeding entirely on garbage. On the wing, however, this vulture shares with its relatives the admiration of all who have been privileged to watch it; sailing in graceful circles in the blue sky of the tropics, or hurrying from all quarters of the compass to some ghoulish feast, it forms a spectacle, once seen, never to be forgotten. It is found on both sides of the Mediterranean, and extends eastwards to India and China.

This species, like the GRIFFON-VULTURE, has the head and neck down-covered, thus standing in strong contrast with the PONDICHERRY and SACRED VULTURES of India and Africa, which have bare heads and necks ornamented by loose folds or lappets of skin of a pinkish colour. These vultures hunt in pairs, and are very self-assertive, driving away all other birds from their prey. They build enormous nests of sticks in bushes and trees, thus differing from the vultures previously described, which generally nest on ledges of rock on precipitous cliffs. These nests are made of sticks, lined with straw and leaves. A single egg is laid, which is white with red markings. The largest species rivals the condor in size.

The EGYPTIAN VULTURE, sometimes known as PHARAOH'S HEN, is the smallest of the vultures. The plumage is white; the head, throat, and fore part of the neck are naked and of a lemon-yellow colour; whilst the feet are pink and the eyes crimson. Not only is it a carrion-feeder, but it will also follow the plough, picking up worms and grubs. This species occurs in Europe, breeding in Provence and Savoy, the Madeiras, Cape Verde, the Canaries, North and South Africa, and India. On three occasions it has wandered to Great Britain.

We pass now to the EAGLES, a group the exact limits of which it is impossible to define, since the forms so designated merge insensibly into Buzzards, Hawks, Harriers, and so forth.

Eagles occur all over the world, save only in New Zealand. An eagle, it is interesting to note, is the bird of Jove, the emblem of St. John and Rome, and at the present day of the American Republic. It also plays an emblematic part in Germany, Austria, and Russia.

Of the true eagles, perhaps the best known is the GOLDEN EAGLE, or MOUNTAIN-EAGLE--a British bird, breeding still, though in diminishing numbers, in Scotland. In Ireland it is fast verging on extinction, trap, gun, and poison having wrought its destruction. In times past it bred in the Lake District of England. Abroad it is found over the greater part of Europe, Northern Asia, India and China, and Northern Africa, and America as far south as Mexico. It is a very fierce and powerful bird, attacking such large animals as antelopes, wolves, and foxes, as well as the more helpless fawns, lambs, hares and rabbits, and ducks, geese, grouse, and so on.

Very different from the free-roving golden eagle and its allies is the South American HARPY-EAGLE. This is a denizen of the forest, of great size and enormous strength, as the powerful bill and feet testify. Whilst other eagles are conspicuous for their powers of flight, the present species is rarely seen on the wing, being strictly a forest-dweller, with short wings and tail, and of a somewhat owl-like plumage, the feathers being very soft. At rest it is one of the most striking of all the eagles. The head is crested, the under parts of the body are white, and the upper dark grey, banded with black. It feeds upon sloths, peccaries, and spider-monkeys.

So recently as 1897 another forest-dwelling species was discovered in the Philippines, and this also preys largely upon monkeys. Its nearest ally is apparently the harpy-eagle, and, like this species, it is a bird of large size and very powerful. It is further remarkable for the enormous size of the beak, which differs from that of all other members of this group in being much compressed from side to side.

The sea, as well as the mountain and the forest, is also, as it were, presided over by members of this group, which are in consequence called SEA-EAGLES. One species, the WHITE-TAILED EAGLE, or ERNE, is reckoned among British birds, though it is fast verging on extinction. In former days it bred on the sea-cliffs of Scotland and Ireland, and in the Lake District. The nest, or eyrie, as it is called, is commonly placed on inaccessible cliffs, but sometimes on the ground or in a tree, and, as is usual with the group, is made of sticks, with a lining of finer materials. This eagle feeds principally upon fish, though hares, lambs, and rabbits and carrion are occasionally taken.

The Hawk Tribe, generally speaking, have the wings comparatively short, the legs long and slender, and the edges of the beak with a sinuous outline and unnotched; but it is impossible to sharply define the group. The best-known species are the SPARROW- and GOS-HAWKS. The first named is still a common British bird, but the latter has now become very rare indeed. In both species the male is a much smaller bird than the female, and is also more brightly coloured. The GOS-HAWK was at one time used in falconry; it is a bird of extremely ferocious disposition, and in the days when hawks were used for sporting purposes had to be kept very safely tethered, as, if it gained its liberty, it would at once proceed to kill every other hawk and falcon in the "mews."

The Falcon Tribe is divisible into two sections--the one containing the American CARRION-HAWKS, and the other the FALCONS.

The CARRION-HAWKS, or CARACARAS, are long-legged birds which spend most of their time on the ground and run well. They are said to hunt, not seldom in packs, after the fashion of wild dogs. One species at least affords an admirable example of mimicry--so rare among birds. This is the CURASSOW-HAWK, so called from its resemblance to the curassow, one of the Game-birds. The resemblance is evidently advantageous, for thereby the hawk is enabled to sit quietly at rest till its prey comes within easy reach, mistaking the hawk for the inoffensive curassow.

The FALCONS form an exceedingly interesting group, if only on account of the part which they played in the sports of mediæval England. Birds of large size and forms as small as sparrows are included within the group; all are very powerful on the wing, and all feed on living prey, though, in the case of the diminutive forms, this may consist mainly, if not entirely, of insects. The members of the Falcon Tribe may be distinguished from the majority of the larger hawks by the fact that the eyes are dark hazel-brown instead of yellow, and that the bare, yellow, waxy-looking band of skin at the base of the beak, so characteristic of the Birds of Prey, is not sharply defined, but scantily clothed with fine bristles, passing insensibly into the feathers of the crown of the head.

Some of the best-known members of this section of the group are the PEREGRINE and JER-FALCONS, and the KESTREL, HOBBY, and MERLIN. Only the peregrine and the kestrel, however, can now be called common.

The PEREGRINE is the falcon held so much in esteem by falconers, by whom the female only was called the "falcon," the male, which is smaller, being known as a "tiercel." The female was used for the capture of the larger game, such as herons and rooks; whilst the male was flown only at partridges, and sometimes magpies.

In a wild state the peregrine falcon is regarded by other birds with the greatest fear and terror. Ducks feeding on the banks of streams or lakes, on perceiving it, immediately take to the water; whilst plovers and lapwings rise to an immense height in the air, and remain there for hours. Mr. Ussher, who has had many opportunities of studying this bird in Ireland, where it is quite common, relates an instance of the tenacity with which it follows its prey, in this case a lapwing. "The falcon," he says, "after several stoops, cleverly avoided by the lapwing, was so near clutching, that the poor bird, quite worn out, dropped into the water, and the falcon, after rising from her stoop, poised a moment on her wings, and then quietly lowering herself with extended legs, lifted the lapwing from the water and bore her off."

The eyrie is generally found half-way up some precipitous cliff: no nest is made, but the eggs are laid on the earth or gravel covering the selected ledge. When eggs are found in a nest, the latter has always been taken from some other bird, even the eagle being occasionally dispossessed. Three or four eggs are laid, which are very beautiful and variable in their coloration. The young are attended by their parents long after they are able to fly.

The JER-FALCONS are birds of large size and great beauty, and at one time were much in request by falconers, probably largely on account of their appearance, for they lack the power and spirit of the peregrine. Grey and black and white and black are distinctive colours of the various species, which are inhabitants of northern regions.

The KESTREL, or WIND-HOVER, is one of the commonest birds of prey, much and most unjustly persecuted by gamekeepers. In its general appearance it closely resembles its much smaller relative, the so-called "SPARROW-HAWK" of America, shown in the photograph on this page by Dr. Shufeldt. The American sparrow-hawk, it should be mentioned, is really a species of kestrel, and, like the British kestrel, belongs to the Falcon group of the Birds of Prey. Like the peregrine falcon, the kestrel does not build a nest, but takes possession of the deserted nests of crows and magpies, or deposits its eggs on the bare earth of a recess in some cliff or quarry which is overhung by a projecting shelf of rock. Occasionally a hole in a tree is chosen, the eggs then resting on the rotten wood at the bottom. That the kestrel is of a more confiding disposition than the majority of its tribe seems to be proved by the fact that it will often deposit its eggs in nesting-boxes, if these are placed in suitable spots. On some English estates the harmlessness of this bird is fully recognised, and every encouragement is given it to breed by the erection of these nesting-boxes. By way of illustration we may cite a case where, on an estate in Kent in 1900, five of these boxes were erected 20 or 30 feet from the ground round a single field, all of which were tenanted by kestrels; and though a thousand young pheasants were reared in this field, not a single one of these was missed by the keepers. Besides its human enemies, the kestrel has to contend with crows and rooks, which spare no efforts to seize its eggs whenever the opportunity presents itself. The eggs, it should be mentioned, are of a bright ruddy colour, but, like those of the peregrine falcon, lose much of their freshness of colouring during incubation. Four or five in number, they are laid at intervals of two days or so, incubation commencing with the deposition of the first egg; as a result, the first nestling hatched may be more than a week older than the last.

The food of the kestrel appears to consist mainly of mice, but frogs, earthworms, grasshoppers, cockchafers, and other beetles are also taken. Kestrels will also eat dead animals, as is proved by the fact that they are not seldom found dead from eating poisoned rats laid out for magpies. One instance is on record where a kestrel was taken with its claws entangled in the fur of a stoat, which fiercely defended itself. It is an easy matter, for those who will take the trouble, to find out what is the staple diet of the kestrel; for if the nest and its neighbourhood be searched, numerous small rounded pellets of the size of a chestnut will be found, which, when broken up, will prove to be composed of the hard and indigestible parts of what has been swallowed. The majority of such pellets are made up of the fur and bones of mice.

The little AMERICAN "SPARROW-HAWK," which, as we have already pointed out, is really a species of kestrel, appears to be almost exclusively insectivorous during the summer months, preying mainly upon grasshoppers. An American ornithologist, Mr. Henshaw, writing on the subject, remarks that during a scourge of grasshoppers the sparrow-hawks assembled in hundreds; and although on this occasion, owing to the vast myriads in which these insects had collected, the birds could make no visible impression, yet they must have done an immense amount of good. Ornithologists from all parts of the United States unanimously agree that grasshoppers form the staple diet of this hawk, though mice and gophers are also largely eaten, and especially during the winter months, when insect food is scarce.

Of the PYGMY FALCONS there are several species, ranging from the Eastern Himalaya, through Tenasserim and Burma, to the Malay Islands and the Philippines. The smallest is the RED-LEGGED FALCONET of Nepal, Sikhim, and Burma. It feeds largely upon insects, such as dragon-flies, beetles, and butterflies, hawking them with a swallow-like speed. Occasionally the members of this little group are said to hunt down and kill birds larger than themselves.

OWLS.

Few birds have been more misrepresented in literature than the Owls. For centuries they have been depicted as birds of ill omen, and accused of all kinds of diabolical practices. Shakespeare, for example, repeatedly makes the owl do duty for some evil sign, or fulfil some dire purpose. Thus in _Macbeth_, Act II., Scene ii.,

It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman, Which gives the stern'st good-night.

And later on, in Act IV., it is an owl's wing which he makes the witches add to their caldron of noisome things, when brewing their deadly potion. In Spain the scops and tawny owls are believed to be devil's birds, and are accused of drinking the oil from the lamps suspended before the shrines of saints. The gamekeeper nails their bodies up on the barn door as offenders of the worst type, whilst the Malagasy believe owls to be the embodiments of evil spirits.

It is therefore a relief to find this unwarrantable prejudice is not absolutely universal, since amongst some people, at least, the owl has found some favour. The best-known instance of this is the case of the Greeks, who made the owl the symbol of wisdom, and chose as an emblem, singularly enough, the species known as the Little Owl, a bird which is notorious for its ludicrous behaviour, so much so that it has earned for itself the reputation of being the veritable buffoon of birds. Its grotesque and ridiculous antics are utilised by Continental bird-catchers, who use it as a lure to attract small birds, tethering it for this purpose near nets, snares, or twigs smeared with bird-lime.

Amongst other birds, strangely enough, the owl appears to be as much disliked as the fiercer and more dangerous members of the Hawk Tribe, and in consequence, should one venture abroad during the day or be discovered in its retreat, the alarm is given, and every small bird within call is summoned to take part in a general mobbing.

Although proverbially unpalatable, the Little Owl is said to be eaten in Italy, as are other species in the various countries in which they are found.

Varying considerably in size, the owls, nevertheless, present a very general uniformity in appearance. All are remarkable for the peculiar softness of their plumage, which imparts to the wings the almost unique power of absolutely silent flight, the sound being deadened or muffled, so that the prey can be approached suddenly, and seized before escape is possible. This is very necessary when hunting in twilight hours. The owls are almost the only birds in which the outer toe is reversible, or capable of being turned either forwards or backwards. Furthermore, the members of this group are remarkable for the fact that the eyes look directly forward, instead of outwards, as in other birds, and that the feathers of the face are arranged round each eye in the form of a disk, and thus impart the familiar owl-like visage, seen elsewhere only among certain of the Hawk Tribe known as "Harriers."

Four species of owl are to be found sparsely distributed over Great Britain. We may regard as the typical owl the species known as the TAWNY or WOOD-OWL. It is the largest of the resident owls in England, and would be much more abundant but that it is subjected to a rigorous and foolish persecution, born of long-standing prejudice and ignorance; it stands accused of the heinous offence of eating game, a charge which has never yet been fully proved. The benefits it confers are great, but, unfortunately, unrecognised, for its chief food consists of rats and mice. This is the bird which gives utterance to that weird "hoo-hoo--hoo-hoo-hoo," one of the most charming of the many delightful sounds that break the stillness of the summer nights. It is interesting to note that this species is unknown as a wild bird in Ireland.

Other and fairly common species in England are the LONG- and SHORT-EARED OWLS, both remarkable for the fact that the aperture of the ear, which is of enormous size, is of a different shape on the right and left sides of the head. These owls, furthermore, are characterised by the possession of a pair of feathery tufts, or "horns," springing from the top of the head, which can be erected or depressed at pleasure. These horns are found in many species of owl not necessarily closely related. The species under consideration are of medium size, with large eyes of a most wonderful golden-yellow colour, standing in strong contrast with those of the tawny owl, which are nearly black. Like the tawny owl, these two species, and especially the short-eared, live largely on rats and mice. The last-named bird also devours great numbers of dor-beetles and cockchafers.

Amongst the largest of the tribe are the EAGLE- and SNOWY OWLS, both of which are occasionally met with in Great Britain. The eagle-owl may be described as a largely magnified long-eared owl in general appearance, though, as a matter of fact, the two are not very closely related. The snowy owl, as its name implies, is white in colour, the white being relieved by more or less conspicuous black markings. This white livery, assimilating with its snowy surroundings, allows the wearer to approach its prey unperceived on the snow. Whilst the snowy owl is confined to northern regions, the eagle-owl enjoys a wide distribution, and is represented by numerous species, one of which, as we have remarked, occasionally visits Great Britain. The larger species of eagle-owl are the most ferocious members of the order, and prey largely upon hares, rabbits, and the large game-birds; whilst the snowy owl, though selecting similar prey, does incalculable good by devouring those destructive little rodents known as the lemmings.

Solitary as owls usually are, some, as the AMERICAN BURROWING-OWLS, live in what may be called colonies; and, stranger still, they live in burrows, which they share with the original excavators. Occurring both in North and South America, it is not surprising to find that the creatures with whom the burrowing-owls elect to take up their abode are very varied, belonging for the most part to numerous groups of burrowing mammalia. In the prairies of North America they appear to quarter themselves upon the prairie-dogs, ground-squirrels, and badgers; and in the pampas of South America upon the Patagonian cavy, the viscacha and armadillos, and occasionally lizards. It seems to be no unusual thing to find, in addition to the bird and mammal tenants of a single burrow, one or more full-grown examples of the much-dreaded rattle-snake--a truly wonderful happy-family, if all accounts are to be believed. But many competent to speak on the matter throw out dark hints which would appear to show that the owl quarters itself on the tenants of a burrow too weak to resist its intrusion upon their domicile, and that occasionally this most masterful bird renders itself still more objectionable by devouring the progeny of its hosts, and sometimes even the hosts themselves.

The species known as PYGMY OWLS and LITTLE OWLS we mention here only on account of their small size, one member of the former group being little bigger than a lark. Thus they stand in strong contrast with the giant snowy and eagle-owls.

Finally, we have the WHITE or BARN-OWL, which with its allies forms a group distinguished from all the other owls by certain well-marked structural characters. The barn-owl is also to be found in Great Britain, but is growing, like all the other owls in this area, more and more rare every year, owing to persecution at the hands of gamekeepers. It is a handsome bird, of a pale buff-yellow, mottled with grey above to pure white beneath, and with the characteristic facial disk peculiarly well developed. It breeds in holes in trees, ruins, and church towers, and feeds almost entirely on mice and rats. From the piercing note which it occasionally utters, it is also known as the SCREECH-OWL.