with carnivorous propensities; its size is, however, increased, and its contour rendered globular by the singular arrangement of the full plumage which invests it. The disc of radiating feathers encircling the eye we have already noticed; but in addition, the top of the head is, in many species, garnished with two elongated plumelets, or tufts, commonly called ears, from their appearance, and capable of being erected or depressed. The whole plumage is soft, full, and downy. But why this superabundance of light and yielding feathers? In order that the bird may winnow the air on silent wing, unheard by its victim. No one can have witnessed the flight of our common Barn Owl, as it skims round the farm-yard or down the hedge row, without noticing that it is peculiarly buoyant and noiseless, very different from the whistling rush of the fleet winged pigeon, or whirring of the pheasant. To this intent, then, is its plumage loose and delicately soft, offering no resistance, and no sharp rigid edges to the air, but yielding to every breath; and such, also, is the character of the quill-feathers, which, from a designed defici

ency in strength and elasticity, are incapable of being struck against the air with that impetuous violence which

G

produces a rushing sound in the flight of so many birds; yet the flight of the Owl is not tardy and impeded; for, to compensate for this deficiency, the wings are of great extent, and by their gentle fanning the bird is not only capable of making considerable progress, but of whirling round, or dropping down like a plummet on his prey. But further, as if to make assurance doubly sure against the least possibility of sound being occasioned by the edge of the wing in passing through the air, the first quillfeather is singularly modified. Its outer edge, instead of being plain, as in most other birds, is fringed with a finely pectinated or comb-like line of short lashes, the prolonged terminations of the plumelets composing the vane; hence the air is not cut abruptly with an unyielding keen-edged instrument, but with one peculiarly modified for noiseless progress.

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The full development of the organs of sight and of hearing has been noticed. The large staring eyes of these birds are expressly adapted for the subdued light of evening or night, and the pupils are capable of great dilatation: this dilatation of the pupil at night is also very remarkable in the cat, a quadruped of analogous habits; when the eyes are seen to glare with a prismatic sort of light, reflected by an internal membrane, the tapetum lucidum," an appearance not observable by day. The eyes of the Owl are, however, less capable of bearing light than those of a cat; the iris is, therefore, more irritable, and its powers of contraction and expansion greater; there is, therefore, an additional defence provided against the painful annoyance of light; this consists of a thin semi-transparent membrane, called membrana nictitans, which the bird can draw over the eye like a fine curtain, or fold up at pleasure. During the day, these nightly hunters remain in their retreat, the eyes half closed, the membranous curtain drawn; at night, when the deepening shades call them forth to the chase, the

eyes are full open and round, the membrane being folded up, by means of a peculiar contrivance, at the inner angle within the socket.

The ears of these birds are extremely susceptible. The

auditory cavities within the skull are prodigiously extended, and the external orifice is very large, concealed between two extensive and membranous valves, from the edges of which proceed the feathers which form the outer rim of the disc which encircles the face. The leaves of this double valve are capable of being thrown apart, so as to concentrate as well as give free entrance to every slight vibration of the atmosphere, the effect of which is increased by the widely diffused cavities connected with the internal mechanism, so that the faintest noise, the cry of a mouse, or its rustle among the straw, is heard with accurate distinctness. Subjoined is a sketch of the external valvular orifice of the ear of the common Barn Owl; the feathers being parted asunder.

As we see gradations to be the order of nature, the reader will not consider it as a contradiction to the above sketch of the habits and general economy of this race, when we state that there are many of the present family which, though hunters by evening twilight, are little, if at all, less hunters by day than are hawks or falcons; such, indeed, form the natural passage from the hawks to the true nocturnal marauders, and their organs of sight and hearing are modified accordingly; the pupils being less influenced by light, that is, the iris possessing less irritability, and the auditory cavities and external valvular concha being less extensive. We commence by selecting an

example of the diurnal group of the Strigidæ, to which Dumerie has given the generic name of Surnia.

The SNOWY OWL, (Surnia nyctea, DUMERIE.) This beautiful bird, which emulates the hawk in its daring

progress, as well as in its habits of hunting by day, is a native of the artic regions of both continents, occasionally venturing as far south as the northern limits of the British dominions, having been seen in Shetland, and occasionally in the Orkney isles. The thick and downy texture of its

plumage declares it to be a dweller among the snow-clad wastes,

"Where tardy suns to deserts drear
Give days and nights of half a year."

In fact, not a single point is left exposed; the bill is almost concealed amidst the mass of plumage enveloping the head; the tarsi and toes are covered with an exuberance of long, thick, hair-like feathers, leaving the claws alone visible, which are strong, curved, and extremely sharp. Nor is the suitability of colour less remarkable, the whole of the plumage being of the purest white, with thinly scattered semilunar bars of brown on the back and under surface. The head is small, in comparison with that of the Owls in general; the eyes are deeply set, and the brows project, as in the falcon; the irides are of the most brilliant golden yellow.

That the Snowy Owl is constituted as a hunter by day is wisely ordered, on behalf of a creature inhabiting the frigid regions of Greenland, Lapland, Siberia, and the latitude of Hudson's Bay. In these desolate climes, where the sun in summer never dips below the horizon, and the darkness of winter is dispersed by the unceasing flashes of the aurora borealis, the Snowy Owl may be seen sweeping along in search of prey: the arctic hare, the ptarmigan, and various small quadrupeds constitute its food; and with a boldness like that of the peregrine falcon, it will follow the hunter by the day together, skimming down from its perch, "when a bird has been shot, with such rapidity as to carry off the prize before the sportsman can get within reach of it." Wilson observes, that the usual food of this species is "hares, grouse, rabbits, ducks, mice, and even carrion;" and that, “unlike most of his tribe, he hunts by day as well as by twilight, and is particularly fond of frequenting the shores and banks of shallow rivers, over the surface of which he slowly sails, or sits on a rock a little raised above the water, watching for fish. These he seizes with a sudden and instantaneous stroke of the foot, seldom missing his aim." The notes of this northern hunter of the arctic wilds are congenial with the gloomy