150 SNOWY OWL. 
less with brown, and the sides somewhat barred; back, as the 
neck. The wings expand to the width of five feet two inches; 
greater and lesser wing coverts, as the back; primaries, white; 
barred with dark brown bars, two inches apart; secondaries 
and tertiaries, white, spotted with dark brown; larger and 
lesser under wing coverts, as the breast. Tail, white, banded 
with bars of broad brown spots; tail coverts, as the back. 
Legs and toes as in the male, but with a few spots; claws, 
black. 
The young are at first covered with brown down, and 
have their first feathers also ight brown. Their next plumage 
is similar to that of the female, only that they are much more 
spotted all over: in fact the abundance of spots is a sign of 
youth, as their absence is of age. 
