1. Nay, only look what I have found! THE SPARROW. 2. And what a medley thing it is! care, Of silvery moss and shining 3. But put together, odds and ends, A SPARROW'S EGG. MARY HOWITT. Its 1. The eagle is called the king of birds. size, strength, courage and keen sight give it the title, for it has a truly noble appearance. 2. The beak of the eagle is nearly straight for some distance from the base, and then suddenly bends downwards into a sharp hook. It is as sharply pointed as it is boldly curved, and well suited for its work of tearing flesh. AN EAGLE'S TALONS. 3. The claws, or talons, as they are called in birds of prey, are curved and pointed for seizing the victim, and then holding it tightly. The The prey is always caught with the talons, not with the beak. 4. When an eagle strikes a bird in the air, the victim is often killed by the mere shock. But if it seizes a hare or a lamb, then the prey is carried off alive to the rock on which the eagle lives. 5. When a bird of prey pounces, the weight of its body bends the legs, and so closes the talons. It cannot then let go the prey, as long as the legs are kept bent; just so it is impossible for a percher to fall off its perch while it sits down keeping its legs bent beneath it. 6. Therefore as an eagle clutches its prey, it puts the weight of its whole body into the action; the sharp curved talons are thus driven into the heart of the victim, while the eagle screams fiercely with pleasure over its victory. An eagle has been known to carry off a child. 7. The male and the female birds remain together throughout the year. They are most dangerous while the eaglets are in the nest. They generally hunt in pairs, one eagle watching from a height while the other courses along near to the ground. The eye of an eagle can be adjusted to see objects very near, or at a great distance. 8. The nest of an eagle is called an aerie. The greater part of the rocky ledge, upon which the aerie is built, is used as a larder for storing food. The nest itself is roughly made of sticks and bushes. 9. The American eagle is known as the baldeagle because of its white head feathers. The bald-eagle is found in every part of this country, and its majesty and strength account perhaps for the choice of the bird as the emblem of the United States. 1. The barn owl is sometimes called the white owl, although its plumage has really different shades of buff, with touches of white, gray and black. The under part of the male is pure white. The young owlets are just like little puffs of white down. 2. The owl has been called a night-prowler. It lives near the abodes of man, and is often found in the neighborhood of farmyards, where it feasts on the mice which do so much damage to the harvest fields and the stored grain. 3. The formation of the feathers on all owls is such, that instead of being stiff and smooth, like those of birds of prey which hunt in the daytime, they are loose and fringed at the edge, so as to prevent that rushing sound which the flight of an eagle or a hawk always makes. An owl is therefore as noiseless in its movements as a cat. 4. The eyes of an owl are round and staring. They are set in front of the head, and both can be brought to bear on an object at the same time, but cannot be turned. When an owl wishes to see around him he has to turn his head; he has the power of twisting his head round, till you could almost fancy it was being screwed off. 5. Not only are the eyes of an owl full and angry he round like those of a cat, but when he is hisses like a cat, and will even lie on his back to fight and scratch with his claws as a cat does. 6. The owl is exceedingly sharp of hearing. The large head has two cavities to assist the sense of hearing. The ears outside are also large but |