powerfully upon the sensibility of the eye, is excluded; while, by dilating the pupil, the animal takes in the more faint rays of the night, and thereby is enabled to spy its prey, and catch it with greater facility in the dark.

But though owls are dazzled by too bright a daylight, yet they do not see best in the darkest nights, as some have been apt to imagine."

The nights when the moon shines are the times of their most successful plunder; for when it is wholly dark, they are less qualified for seeing and pursuing their prey; except, therefore, by moonlight, they contract the hours of their chase; and if they come out at the approach of dusk in the evening, they return before it is totally dark, and then rise by twilight the next morning, to pursue their game, and to return, in like manner, before the broad daylight begins to dazzle them with its splendor.

Yet the faculty of seeing in the night, or of being entirely dazzled by day, is not alike in every species of these nocturnal birds. The common white or barn owl, for instance, sees with such exquisite acuteness in the dark, though the barn has been shut at night, and the light thus totally excluded, that it perceives the smallest mouse that peeps from its hole; on the contrary, the brown horned owl is often seen to prowl along the hedges by day, like the sparrow-hawk; and sometimes with good success. The note of the owl is not unpleasant. "A friend," says Mr White, "remarks that most of his owls hoot in B flat; but that one went almost half a note below A.— A neighbor of mine, who is said to have a nice ear, remarks that the owls about this village hoot in three different keys, in G flat, or F sharp, in B flat and A flat. He heard two hooting to each other, the one in A flat, and the other in B flat."

THE AMERICAN HORNED OWL.1

THE great horned owl is found in almost every quarter of the United States. "His favorite residence, however, is in the dark solitudes of deep swamps, covered with a growth of gigantic timber; and here, as soon as evening draws on, and mankind retire to rest, he sends forth such sounds, as seem scarcely to belong to this world. Along the mountainous shores of the Ohio, and amidst the deep forests of Indiana, alone and reposing in the woods, this ghostly watchman has frequently warned me of the approach of morning, and amused me by his singular exclamations; sometimes sweeping down and around my fire, uttering a sudden Waugh O! Waugh O! sufficient to have alarmed a whole garrison. He has other nocturnal solos, no less melodious, one of which very strikingly resembles the half suppress

1Strix Virginiana, WILSON.

ed screams of a person suffocated or throttled, and cannot fail of being exceedingly entertaining to a lonely benighted traveller, in the midst of an Indian wilderness."

This species inhabits the country round Hudson's Bay; and according to Pennant, (who considers it a mere variety of the eagle owl of Europe,) is found in Kamtschatka, extends even to the Arctic regions, where it is found white; and occurs as low as Astrachan. It has also been seen white in the United States, but this has been owing doubtless to disease. It preys on

young rabbits, squirrels, rats, mice, partridges, and small birds of various kinds. It has been often known to prowl about a farmhouse, and carry off chickens from roost. The great horned owl is not migratory, but remains with us the whole year. He is very rarely seen abroad by day, and never but when disturbed. The nest is generally placed in the fork of a tall tree, and is constructed of sticks piled in considerable quantity, lined with dry leaves and a few feathers. The female lays four white eggs, nearly as large as those of a hen.

THE SNOWY OWL1

Is a native of the most northern regions of both continents, passing southward in the old as far as the latitude of Astracan, and in the new to that of

Pennsylvania, or more rarely even to the borders of Florida. It is very seldom, however, met with in Europe to the south of Sweden; while in America it appears to be most frequent in the latitude of Hudson's Bay. Bechstein mentions one or two instances of its appearance in the neighborhood of Leipsic and of Dresden; and it has obtained a place in the British Fauna, as an inhabitant of the islands of Orkney and Shetland, where it was first detected by Mr Edmonstone, about eighteen or twenty years ago. It seems probable, from that gentleman's observations, that it is stationary in the last mentioned locality throughout the year; but Wilson believes it to be only an occasional visitant in the United States, except perhaps in some of

the more northern and inland parts, when it may remain during the summer to breed. In the early part of the present year, (1832,) one of them was shot on an island in Boston harbor, where he had been noticed lurking for several days previous, feeding on clams, muscles, and other shellfish along the shore.

The comparative length of wing and strength of the quill feathers, in this beautiful owl, enable him to fly with much more swiftness, and to remain suspended in the air for a much greater length of time, than any other bird of the family. It flies abroad also in the daytime, as well as in the twilight, and in all these particulars, as well as in the nature of its food, evinces a striking approach to some of the more strictly diurnal birds of prey. It feeds almost indiscriminately on birds, quadrupeds, fishes, and even carrion; and is stated by Hearne to be extremely troublesome to the hunter, whom it will follow for a whole day, perching itself on the highest tree, and skimming down, when a bird has been shot, with such rapidity as to carry off the prize,

SO

before the sportsman can get within reach of it. "They are," he adds, great a hindrance to those employed in the hunting service, that the same premium is given for one of their heads as for that of the hawk."

Wilson describes this bird as being particularly fond of frequenting the shores and banks of shallow rivers, sailing slowly over the surface, or sitting on a rock a little raised above the water, watching for fish, which it seizes with a sudden and instantaneous stroke of the foot, seldom missing its aim. It is capable of swallowing entire animals of considerable size, such as grouse, and partridges, young hares, and rabbits. Mr Bullock mentions an instance that came within his knowledge, in which a wounded individual disgorged a whole rabbit. According to Hearne, the female makes her nest upon the ground, and generally lays from three to four eggs, but seldom hatches more than two. The young are unable to fly before September; and the parents never migrate in search of a more temperate climate, but brave the coldest winters, even on the barren grounds, far from any shelter that might be derived from the woods. In such situations they perch on high rocks and stones, watching for their prey, their snowy plumage rendering them almost undistinguishable. Their voice is so dismal, that, as Pennant observes, it adds horror even to a Greenland winter.

THE WHITE, OR BARN OWL,1

THOUGH SO Common in Europe, is much rarer in the United States than the preceding; and is only found here during very severe winters. This may possibly be owing to the want of those favorite recesses in this part of the world, which it so much affects in the Eastern Continent. The multitudes of old ruined towers, castles, monasteries, and cathedrals, that every where rise to view in those countries, are the chosen haunts of this well known species. Its savage cries at night give, with vulgar minds, a cast of supernatural horror to those, venerable mouldering piles of antiquity. This species being common to both continents, doubtless extends to the arctic regions.

They feed eagerly upon the meadow mouse, which is found in the meadows below Philadelphia, and on the marshes along the seashore. Another favorite prey of this owl is the bat.

1 Strix flammea, LIN.

THE HAWK OW L1

Is a connecting link between the hawk and owl tribes. It has one strong trait of the hawk tribe in flying and preying by day, contrary to the general habit of owls. It is characterized as a bold and active species, following the fowler and carrying off his game as soon as shot. It is said to prey on partridges and birds, and is very common in Hudson's Bay. It is rare in the southern parts of the United States. Its favorite range seems to be along the borders of the arctic regions. Of their nest and manner of breeding we have no account. It is an inhabitant of both continents.

It is worthy of remark, that in all owls that fly by night, the exterior edges and sides of the wing quills are slightly recurved, and end in fine hairs or points; by which means the bird is enabled to pass through the air with the greatest silence, a provision necessary for enabling them the better to secure their prey. In the hawk owl, which flies by day, and to whom this contrivance would be of no consequence, it is accordingly omitted, or at least is scarcely observable.

Is well known by its common name of the little screech owl; and noted for its melancholy quivering kind of wailing in the evening, particularly towards the latter part of summer and autumn, near the farmhouse. On clear moonlight nights they answer each other from various parts of the fields or orchards; roost during the day in thick evergreens, such as cedar, pine, or