The Owls. 



105 



The Snowy Owl. 



The home of the 

 Snowy Owl is in 

 the Arctic Regions, 

 where it is a resi- 

 dent, but as winter 

 comes on a certain 

 number appear to 

 mif,'rate south, and it 

 is then that the bird 

 visits Great Britain 

 occasionally, occur- 

 ring \n Scotland 

 nearly every year. 

 The Snowy Owl is a 

 day-flying species, 

 and feeds principally 

 on the hordes ot 

 Lemmings which 

 make their wonder- 

 ful migrations in 



countless numbers in northern latitudes. It also catches Hares, Grouse and Ptarmigan, 



as well as Duck, and is even said to feed on fish. The nest is built on the ground in 



the open tundra, and consists only of a little moss or lichen with a few feathers : 



sometimes it is only a hollow scooped out in the 



moss. The eggs are six or eight in number, 



white, and measuring over two inches in length. 



The ' Hawk ' Owls are so- 

 named on account of their 

 barred plumage, which gives 

 a slight similarity to a Hawk 



in appearance, and also probably on account of 



their habit of hunting in the daylight. They are 



smaller than the Snowy Owl, ha\c no trace 



of ear-tufts, and have a long and wedge-shaped 



tail. The European species of Hawk-Owl 



[S. nliilii] has certainly occurred in Great 



Britain, as I have seen a specimen kdled in 



Wiltshire, and it has also been noticed in the 



Shetlands ; but most of the specimens obtained 



have undoubtedly belonged to the American 



form, >>'. fiiiicrcd. . The Hawk-Owi,. 



THE 

 HAWK-OWL. 

 {Suyniti ululti.) 



