16 CRUISE OF STEAMER CORWIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 
NYCTALE TEGMALMI. 
(57.) TEGMALM’S OWL. 
This old-world form of the Northern Sparrow Owl claims admittance to the North American 
fauna by the capture of a single individual near Saint Michael’s, Alaska, by Mr. L. M. Turner, 
beyond which there is no other record of it on our shores. It is found throughout Northern 
Siberia wherever woodland occurs, and like the Lapland Owl reaches the open coast by merest 
chance, its preference being for the sheltering forests of the interior. 
NCYTALE TEGMALMI RICHARDSONI (Bp.) Ridgw. 
(58.) RICHARDSON’S OWL. 
This Owl, although a bird of the wooded interior, also ranges along the bushy borders of the 
various water courses and reaches the shores of Bering Sea and Kotzebue Sound at rare and 
irregular intervals. It is well known to the natives, who called it ‘The Blind Owl,” because it 
cannot see well during the day-time and is easily caught alive by the hand. In the interior it 
becomes quite numerous, and on the lower Yukon nests as low down as the vicinity of Kotlik, 
whence I have a set of its eggs. The bird is found resident here though only a few miles to the 
sea-coast. But thisis exceptional, as elsewhere the surroundings are not favorable for its presence. 
The natives of the interior (Indians) catch this bird, tie a small piece of dried fish to its back, and 
and let it go, claiming they will thus secure good fortune in the hunt and in other matters. 
BUBO VIRGINIAANUS SUBARCTICUS (Hoy) Ridgw. 
(59.) THe NORTHWESTERN HORNED OWL. 
Among the Owls which pay occasional visits to the coast of Bering Sea in Alaska, as well as 
to the southern portion of its arctic shores, this bird may be reckoned as the most common. 
Scarcely an autumn passes but a number of individuals are seen occupying conspicuous places on 
piles of drift wood or other prominent places along the shore in the vicinity of Saint Michael’s and 
thence north where it is well known to the natives. Occasionally it becomes bold enough to 
frequent the vicinity of the houses, but this rarely occurs. Like the preceding owls, with the 
exception of the first mentioned, this is unknown on any of the Bering Sea islands. It is also 
unknown from the Asiatic shore, so far as any records which I have seen go to show. 
NYCTEA SCANDIACA (Linn.) Newt. 
(60.) THE SNowy OWL. 
From the Kuskoquim mouth, north along the entire Alaskan coast, as also on the northern 
islands in Bering Sea, the Siberian coast of this sea, and on the coast of the Arctic, this is a 
resident bird, perhaps most numerous in winter along the Arctic coast. It is not uncommon in 
summer to see this owl perched along the brow of the cliffs fronting the shore to the north of 
Kotzebue Sound. It is found to be extremely shy even in these far-off regions, and it is almost 
impossible to approach within rifle shot. As we landed upon Wrangel Island and ascended the 
slope of the hill rising from the beach one of these birds arose over 200 yards in advance and made 
off as though his experience of mankind had been anything but agreeable; yet it is certain that his 
habitation at that time had never before been disturbed by man. During some seasons, when the 
lemming abounds at any particular point, this bird becomes correspondingly numerous and preys 
upon this small rodent. At times, however, it attacks and kills the northern hare, and is one of 
the most dreaded enemies of the ptarmigan. In winter it glides on noiseless wing close along the 
surface of the snow, its white plumage blending so completely with the white landscape that it is 
followed with the greatest difficulty by the eye; ever and anon it vanishes and reappears like a 
shadow, as it takes its course along the shore or over the open country. 
