^"'i'ooz^^l Deane, Unusual Abu7tdance of the Snoxvy O-vl. 2'7 1 



with bright, well defined streaks and blotches of light brown on a 

 greenish ground, the other with a more cloudy effect. Two other 

 sets are almost exactly like some of the Savanna, thickly dotted 

 with fine brown spots so as to hide the ground color ; the fifth 

 bears a striking resemblance to some eggs I have seen of the 

 Bobolink, being clouded and washed with dull brown on a dirty 

 greenish white ground, while in the sixth set, 3 eggs are almost 

 exactly like the ordinary type of the Prairie Horned Lark, with 

 the bufify tint of the latter replaced by greenish, and the ground 

 color being sparingly dotted with light brown ; the other egg in 

 this set resembling a light colored Savanna's, thickly dotted with 

 brown spots, so as to nearly hide the ground color. I had no 

 time to take a description of the seventh nest, which was taken by 

 Col. Gourdeau, Deputy Minister of Marine and Fisheries, to the 

 Museum of his Department at Ottawa. 



Mr. James Boutilier, who seemed to know where nearly every 

 pair nested annually, assured me that pure white eggs were seen 

 in the nests occasionally, perhaps one egg in two years. 



UNUSUAL ABUNDANCE OF THE SNOWY OWL 



{NYCTEA NYC TEA) IN NEW ENGLAND 



AND CANADA. 



BY EUTHVEN DEANE. 



Under a somewhat similar title I published a short article in 

 the ' Bulletin ' of the Nuttall Ornithological Club ^ in January, 

 1877. For two months prior to that date there had been a large 

 migration of these owls through various parts of New England, 

 though largely restricted to the seacoast. I have received infor- 

 mation from different localities that another large incursion of 

 Snowy Owls appeared this past winter, though the migration com- 

 menced considerably earlier than usual, the first being seen in 

 October. While these owls are not regarded as rare visitors to 



' Bulletin Nuttall Ornithological Club, Vol. II, No. i, 1877. 



