Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/100

 W L certainly more nocturnal in habit, the external ear, how ever, has no very remarkable development of conch, which may perhaps be accounted for by the ordinary prey of the bird being the larger rodents, that from their size are more readily seen, and hence the growth of the bird s auditory organs has not been much stimulated. In Strix (as the name is here used), a form depending greatly on its sense of hearing for the capture of its prey, the ear-conch is much enlarged, and it has, moreover, an elevated flap or operculum. In Asia, containing the Long-eared and Short-eared Owls of Europe, Asia, and America, the conch is enormously exaggerated, extending in a semicircular direction from the base of the lower mandible to above the middle of the eye, and is furnished in its whole length with an operculum. 1 But what is more extraordinary in this genus is that the entrance to the ear is asymmetrical the orifice on one side opening downwards and on the other upwards. This curious adaptation is carried still further in the genus Nyctala, containing two or three small species of the Northern hemisphere, in which the asymmetry that in Asia is only skin-deep extends, in a manner very surprising, to several of the bones of the head, as may be seen in the Zoological Society s Proceed ings (1871, pp. 739-743), and in the large series of figures given by Messrs Baird, Brewer and Kidgway (N. Am. Birds, iii. pp. 97-102). Among Owls are found birds which vary in length from 5 inches as Glaucidium cobanense, which is therefore much smaller than a Skylark to more than 2 feet, a size that is attained by many species. Their plumage, none of the feathers of which possesses an aftershaft, is of the softest kind, rendering their flight almost noiseless. But one of the most characteristic features of this whole group is the ruff, consisting of several rows of small and much- curved feathers with stiff shafts originating from a fold of the skin, which begins on each side of the base of the beak, runs above the eyes, and passing downwards round and behind the ears turns forward, and ends at the chin and serving to support the longer feathers of the &quot; disk &quot; or space immediately around the eyes, which extend over it. A considerable number of species of Owls, belonging to various genera, and natives of countries most widely separated, are remarkable for exhibiting two phases of coloration one in which the prevalent browns have a more or less rusty-red tinge, and the other in which they incline to grey. Another characteristic of nearly all Owls is the reversible property of their outer toes, which are not unfrequently turned at the bird s pleasure quite back wards. Many forms have the legs and toes thickly clothed to the very claws ; others have the toes, and even the tarsi, bare, or only sparsely beset by bristles. Among the bare-legged Owls those of the Indian Ketupa are con spicuous, and this feature is usually correlated with their fish-catching habits ; but certainly other Owls that are not known to catch fish present much the same character. Among the multitude of Owls there is only room here to make further mention of a few of the more interesting. First must be noticed the Tawny Owl the Strix stridula of Linnseus, the type, as has been above said, of the whole group, and especially of the Strigine section as here understood. This is the Syrnium aluco of some authors, the Chat-hudht of the French, the species whose tremulous hooting &quot;tu-whit, to- who,&quot; has been celebrated by Shakespear, and, as well as the plaintive call, &quot;keewick,&quot; of the young after leaving the nest, will be familiar sounds to many readers, for the bird is very generally distributed throughout most parts of Europe, extending its range through Asia Minor to Palestine, and also to Barb:;ry but not belonging to the Ethiopian Region or to the eastern half of the Pala arctic. It is the largest of the species indigenous to Britain, and is strictly a woodland bird, only occa sionally choosing any other place for its nest than a hollow tree. Its food consists almost entirely of small mammals, chieliy rodents ; 1 Figures of these different forms are given by Macgillivray (Brit. Uirdf, iii. pp. 396, 403, and 427). but, though on this account most deserving of protection from all classes, it is subject to the stupid persecution of the ignorant, and is rapidly declining in numbers. 2 Its nearest allies in North America are the S. nebulosa, with some kindred forms, one of which, the S. occidentalis of California and Arizona, is figured below ; but none of them seem to have the &quot; merry note &quot; that is uttered by the FIG. 1. Strix occidentalis. European species. Common to the most northerly forest-tracts of both continents (for, though a slight difference of coloration is observable between American examples and those from the Old World, it is impossible to consider it specific) is the much larger S. cinerea or S. lapponica, whose iron-grey plumage, delicately mottled with dark brown, and the concentric circles of its facial disks make it one of the most remarkable of the group. Then may be noticed the genus Bubo containing several species which from their size arc usually known as Eagle-Owls. Here the Nearetic and Palrearctic forms are sufficiently distinct the latter, B. ignavus, 3 the Due or Grand Due of the French, ranging over the whole of Europe and Asia north of the Himalayas, while the former, B. virginianus, extends over the whole of North America. A contrast to the generally sombre colour of these birds is shown bv the Snowy Owl, Nyctca scandiaca, a circumpolar species, and the only one of its genus, which disdains the shelter of forests and braves the most rigorous arctic climate, though compelled to migrate southward in winter when no sustenance is left for it. Its large size and white plumage, more or less mottled with black, distinguish this from every other Owl. Then may be mentioned the birds commonly known in English as &quot;Horned&quot; 0ls the Hibous of the French, belonging to the genus Asia. One, A. otus (the Otus Tulgaris of some authors), inhabits woods, and, distin guished by its long tufts, usually borne erected, would seem to be common to both America and Europe though experts profess their ability to distinguish between examples from each country. Another speciee, A. accipitrinus (the Otus brachyotus of many authors), has much shorter tufts on its head, and they are frequently carried depressed so as to escape observation. This is the Wood cock-Owl of English sportsmen, for, though a good many are bred in Great Britain, the majority arrive in autumn from Scandinavia, just about the time that the immigration of Woodcocks occurs. This species frequents heaths, moors, and the open country gene rally, to the exclusion of woods, and has an enormous geographical range, including not only all Europe, North Africa, and northern Asia, but the whole of America, reaching also to the Falklands, the Galapagos, and the Sandwich Islands, -for the attempt to 2 All Owls have the habit of casting up the indigestible parts of the food swallowed in the form of pellets, which may often be found in abundance under the Owl-roost, and reveal without any manner of doubt what the prey of the birds has been. The result in nearly every case shows the enormous service they render to man iu destroy ing rats and mice. Details of many observations to this effect aie recorded in the Bericht ilber die XIV. Versammlung der Deutschen Ornitholoyen-Gesdlschaft (pp. 30-34). 3 This species bears confinement very well, ai d propagates freely therein. To it belong the historic Owls of Aruudel Castle.