SNOWY OWL 
376. Nyctea nyctea. 25 in. 
No ear tufts. Plumage white, more or less heayily 
spotted with black, the female usually being quite 
strongly barred on the back. They are locally abundant 
in the far north, preferring low, mossy lands to the 
more timbered districts. Here they find an abundance 
of food during the summer months, living upon hares, 
lemmings, ptarmigan and ducks. They are about the 
equal of the Horned Owl in strength, and usually will 
weigh a few ounces more; they will frequently kill 
animals or birds as heavy, or heavier, than themselves. 
They also catch a great many fish; these they get in 
shallow water among the rock-weed covered stones, by 
reaching down quickly and seizing their prey in their 
strong claws. 
Nest.—On the ground in dry portions of marshes; 
the 2 to 8 eggs are pure white. 
Range.—Breeds from Labrador and Hudson Bay, 
northward, and possibly farther south; winters cas- 
ually to the Middle States, and commonly ‘to Minne- 
sota and Maine. 
