Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1886-01-09
A CHAPTER on OWLS.
The Members Of This Great Family
Residents Of Montana. The
Superstition il Regard
to Them.
WRITTEN FOR THE TRIBUNE.

to Them.
WRITTEN FOR TIE TRIBUNE.
| In all ages, ancient and modern:
owls have occupied prominent place
among birds. Not only in their form
and voice peculiar, but their nocturn-
al habits envelop them with an air OF
mystery that could be acquired IN nc
other way In the old world they are
constantly associated with ruins and
/ dessoIation and solitude. There, vari-
Gus species have made their home foI
hundreds, even thousands Of years,
among the remains Of former civiliza-
| tons Was it not written of Baby
! Ion: "But wild beasts Of the desert
shall lie there: and their houses shall
! be full of dolefu] creatures: and owls
shall dwell there, and satyrs shall
| dance there" With us in this newly
peopled land, these birds are more apt
to recall the damp, still wood, or Sc
cluded glen, where the rays Of the sun
scarcely penetrate; some vertible
sleepy hollow where in the night
hours any superstitious fears we may
possess would be greatly augmented
by thoughts Of all sorts of hob goblins
and evil things that might pounce
down upon one at q moments notice,
Possibly could we behold two thous-
and years into the changing future,
we might see the descendants Of our
owls, having long ago deserted the
scant forests, lowering about the ruins
Of this NIX century We may be
sure they would be regarded with the
same curious gaze by the locker on,
accorded them when living among ex-
isting ruins, and they would return
that gaze with the same slow stare, as
much at to say 1--WE are the same,
whatever our surroundings
But to return to some Of the peeuli-
at attributes and characteristics Of
owls. They have ever been esteemed
the bird preeminent Of wisdom. Was
not the owl, Minerals fayorite philo-
pher? And il we may bslives the
poet:
Mid all the tribes Of airy fowl,
Nought is SO wise as the horned owl;
Ii in daylight he opens his eyes by
chance,
He shuts them again with satisfied
glance,
For the rays Of the sun make Ill things
And the light within is enoughg for
him"
But what has this hermit, as he is
often called, done to gain such rep
utation? Very little, I believe It is
one Of those not totally unknown
cases where appearances go long
way" The birds physiognomy is
peculiar among all its class. The
skull is broad and short. and the eyes
SO placed in front that both can be
directed at the same object without
turning the head. This, itself, at
times impart5 sort Of half human
aspect, Then too, they stand erect,
with the whole face forward, and have
all the slow, deliberate actions often
acquired with wisdom. The large,
round, yellow eye itself adds rather a
ludicrous aspect to the otherwise quite
solemn demeanor. [ was never more
impressed by this than once when
coming suddenly upon great horned
owl perched just above my head. The
bird heard a rustic, and, after much
blinking, gazed about inquiringly,
but without seeing the cause Of his
disturbance. Again, after making a
slight noise. he drew his head back
and looked down at me square in the
face The view seemed unsatisfactory
however, for he raised his head and
gazed into the distance-as If to better
adjust the focus Of his vision. Again
he looked square at me and was again
unsatisfed. Another adjustment and
another gaze, when suddenly he
seemed to discern some frightful OBJ
ject, and bethinking himself Of his
wings make off in all haste. He was
evidently IN much the same condition
as the man, who steps out from a per-
fectly dark room into the bright sun
light
Owls belong to the Strigida, OF
nocturnal birds Of prey, but some
species can be found about at nearly
all hours Of the day, and all can see
quite well in sunlight if given time to
adjust the eye to its surroundings.
Compare, for an instant, the eve Of
the nearly related hawk with that of
the owl The rapidly dilating and
contracting iris and power Of de-
preston of the upper eyelid, gives an
air Of energy and ferceness to the for
mer, totally wanting in the latter
When once an owl gets his eyes fairly
opened they are round and yellow,
with all the expressionless gaze Of a