THE VIRGINIAN HORNED-OWL.

Strix Virginiana. Linn.

All the preceding birds belong to that division of the Rapacious¹ Order which pursue their prey² in the open face of day, and are consequently termed Diurnal³; but those which we have now to notice are on the contrary Nocturnal in their habits, and only venture abroad in the shades of the evening, or under cover of the darkness of the night. They are readily distinguished⁴ from the former by their short and compressed bill, curved from its very base; by the anterior⁵ position of their eyes, which are of great size and surrounded by a circular disc of stiff hairs and feathers, covering the base of the bill anteriorly⁶ and extending posteriorly over the ears, which, as well as the disc, vary considerably⁷ in size in[214] the different races; by the great extent of dilatation of which their pupils are capable, a provision admirably calculated for enabling them to see by night; by the breadth and apparent bulk of their heads and bodies, both of which are thickly clothed with long and soft feathers; by the plumage of their legs, which in all the European species is continued down to the very toes, and sometimes even along them; by the direction of their toes, which are all naturally turned forwards, the external one being, however, capable of taking an opposite direction; and by the high degree of retractility and sharpness of their claws.

All these birds were comprehended by Linn?us under the generic⁸ name of Strix, but later naturalists⁹ have subdivided¹⁰ them into several genera, dependent on the size of the ears and of the ocular discs, on the presence or absence of two remarkable¹¹ tufts of feathers on the head having somewhat the appearance of horns, and on the covering of the legs and feet. The Virginian Horned Owl¹² is spread over nearly the whole continent of America from north to south. Its plumage is brown above, marked with numerous transverse black stripes, and the feathers of the under surface are of a dirty white, transversely striped with blackish-brown.

1 rapacious   

adj.贪婪的，强夺的

参考例句：

• He had a rapacious appetite for bird's nest soup.他吃燕窝汤吃个没够。
• Rapacious soldiers looted the houses in the defeated city.贪婪的士兵洗劫了被打败的城市。

2 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

3 diurnal   

adj.白天的，每日的

参考例句：

• Kangaroos are diurnal animals.袋鼠是日间活动的动物。
• Over water the diurnal change in refraction is likely to be small. 在水面上，折光的周日变化可能是很小的。

4 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

5 anterior   

adj.较早的；在前的

参考例句：

• We've already finished the work anterior to the schedule.我们已经提前完成了工作。
• The anterior part of a fish contains the head and gills.鱼的前部包括头和鳃。

6 anteriorly   

adv.先前地，居先地

参考例句：

• Thus, the lower lobe predominates posteriorly and the upper lobe predominates anteriorly. 然后，更低的（下部的）耳垂（耳朵）其次占优势，并且上部耳垂（耳朵）先前占优势。 来自互联网
• The plumbline from C7 shifted anteriorly with age. 从C7起，重力线开始随着年龄向前移动。 来自互联网

7 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

8 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

9 naturalists   

n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者

参考例句：

• Naturalists differ much in determining what characters are of generic value. 自然学者对于不同性状决定生物的属的含义上，各有各的见解。 来自辞典例句
• This fact has led naturalists to believe that the Isthmus was formerly open. 使许多自然学者相信这个地蛱在以前原是开通的。 来自辞典例句

10 subdivided   

再分，细分( subdivide的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The compound was subdivided into four living areas. 那个区域被划分成4个居住小区。
• This part of geologic calendar has not been satisfactorily subdivided. 这部分地质年代表还没有令人满意地再细分出来。

11 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

12 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。