SNOWY OWL— WHITE OWL. 141 



makes it appear probable that the majority of this sex are resident 

 in the Arctic regions. 



The Snowy Owl abounds throughout the whole year in the 

 fur countries, and penetrates far into the Arctic circle, having been 

 observed at the highest northern latitude yet attained by voyagers. 

 From these northern parts it is often driven by the severity of 

 the weather or scarcity of food, and visits many portions of 

 Canada and the northern United States, wandering occasionally 

 even to the borders of Florida. On such migrations it is invariably 

 accompanied by flocks of White Grouse or Ptarmigan, and it has 

 been observed that when either or both of these birds have been 

 unusually abundant around Montreal or Quebec, the winter has 

 been more than ordinarily severe to the northward. During 

 the latter part of December, 1875, and in the midst of singularly 

 mild and rainy weather, a severe Polar wave swept over the 

 greater part of the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario, closing up 

 our rivers and causing the thermometer to register between 20^ 

 and 28" below zero for five days. With this arrived large flocks 

 of Ptarmigan, hundreds of which were exposed for sale in our 

 markets and groceries ; a number of Snowy Owls ; a few Great 

 Gray Cinereous Owls, Bohemian Chatterers or Wax-wings, and 

 Pine Linnets. The Snowy Owls were brought into the markets 

 by the habitants who had shot them, and during one week I 

 examined upwards of a dozen of these birds, the majority of which 

 were females. The cold snap leaving us as suddenly as it had 

 arrived, was followed, on Christmas and New Year's day, by open 

 spring-like weather with heavy rains, and the Owls and Ptarmi- 

 gans disappeared. It has always seemed unaccountable to me 

 that the Snowy Owl should be at all influenced by the cold. His 

 plumage is wonderfully adapted for the most inclement weather 

 we can conceive of, being thick, elastic and closely matted or 

 interwoven. Any one who has ever attempted to skin one of these 

 birds will without hesitation bear me out in this statement. It 

 seems an endless task to get beyond the feathers ; and even when 

 we have succeeded in parting the outer and inner portions of the . 

 plumage, we still find a thick matting of white down, which has to 



