. The pet book. Pets. THE OWL ^WLS have long been considered the wisest of birds, probably because their great eyes look like spectacles, and their crooked beak like an intel- lectual nose. If the owl's form were the restdt of its thought, it would indeed merit the reputation of wis- dom for it is a bird marvelously adapted for its life. It is a creature of the night, and its great eyes have an iris that opens wide in the dark, and shuts to a little round pupil in daylight. The owl, like' the cat, sees in the dark by using the light twice, and this enables it to fly about avoiding branches and
. The pet book. Pets. THE OWL ^WLS have long been considered the wisest of birds, probably because their great eyes look like spectacles, and their crooked beak like an intel- lectual nose. If the owl's form were the restdt of its thought, it would indeed merit the reputation of wis- dom for it is a bird marvelously adapted for its life. It is a creature of the night, and its great eyes have an iris that opens wide in the dark, and shuts to a little round pupil in daylight. The owl, like' the cat, sees in the dark by using the light twice, and this enables it to fly about avoiding branches and obstacles; but it gains its knowledge of the where- abouts of its prey largely through its acute hearing. Its ear instead of being a mere opening in the head, consists of a fold of skin, forming a channel which ex- tends from above the eye aroiuid to the side of the throat. It can detect the slightest rustle of mouse or bird, and pounces in the direction from which the sound comes. It seizes its prey in its sharp claws; the outer toe can be moved back at will in order to give it a better grasp. The curved beak is used to tear its victim in pieces to be swallowed. In order to secure its prey, the owl must move silently; its plumage is very fluffy, and its wing feathers instead of having stiff edges, like those of other birds, are bordered with soft fringes which cushion the stroke of the wing on the air, and render the flight noiseless. 172. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Comstock, Anna Botsford, 1854-1930; Lord, Henry B. ins; Wright, Albert Hazen, 1879-1970 ins; Comstock, Anna Botsford, 1854-1930. ins. Ithaca, N. Y. : Comstock
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Keywords: ., bookauthorcomstockannabotsford1, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910
