Owl
in ornithology, a popular name for any nocturnal raptorial bird, of which about 250 species are known. A classification has been proposed, based OWOSSO on pterylological and osteological characters, broadly dividing the owls into two sections: (1) The screech-owl, and (2) the tawny-owl section, with (the Linnæan) Strix flammea and S. stridula as the respective types. The former is known as the Alucine (from Fleming's name for the genus, Aluco), and the latter as the Strigine section. The prevailing color of the plumage is brown, with a tinge of rusty-red, and it is exceedingly loose and soft, so that their flight (even in the larger species) is almost noiseless, enabling them to swoop upon their prey, which they hunt in the twilight. All owls cast up in the form of pellets the indigestible parts of the food swallowed. They range over the whole globe.