Voi. XIX"j Yy-e^x^-E., Unus^ual Abundance of the S7io-vy O'mI. ^79 



a white-footed mouse. He reports that an owl of this species 

 which he examined about eight years ago, shot on the St. Law- 

 rence River, below Quebec, contained a specimen of the Black 

 Guillemot entire, with the exception of the wings and one foot. 



Mr. Napoleon A. Comeau, Godbout, P. Q., writes the following 

 most interesting l-etter under date of March ii, 1902: "Migra- 

 tions of the Snowy Owl occur almost every year along the north 

 shore of the St. Lawrence River. As the birds alight on floating 

 ice as well as on land, many of them find their way across the St. 

 Lawrence and from there to Maine, or follow the river up, and 

 some are killed near Quebec, and even in the city, accord- 

 ing to reports in the local papers. An abundant food supply 

 seems to be the cause. They generally follow in the track of 

 migration of other birds on which they prey. These are Willow 

 Ptarmigan, the Lesser Auk, and the Murre ( Uria lomvia). The 

 big migration of 1876, which you noticed, followed a very large 

 migration of Ptarmigans. During the present winter they have 

 followed on an immense migration of the Lesser Auk and Murre. 

 Some three hundred or so Snowy Owls have been shot and 

 trapped by residents in this immediate vicinity in a section of 

 about nine miles. I have examined the stomachs of over a hun- 

 dred and have found invariably the remains of the two species 

 above mentioned. The owls in some cases were nothing but a 

 lump of fat. The migration began here on November 25, 1901, 

 when the first was seen, and has continued at intervals to this 

 date. The last birds are seen generally about the beginning of 

 May, when they disappear entirely. This bird flies and preys by 

 day as well as by night, but tl^e greatest flights are by night. 

 They follow the coast line, as a rule. In January of this year I 

 saw over a hundred birds in one evening from seven o'clock to 

 10.30 p. M. They are rather shy birds and difficult to shoot, 

 owing to their keen sight and habit of selecting some high point 

 to alight upon, such as a large piece of ice or a rock. They sel- 

 dom alight on green trees, but select dead stumps. Trappers 

 take advantage of this habit and place steel-traps on stumps or other 

 prominent places to which the owls fall an easy prey. They are 

 considered a good article of food in this region, and the feathers 

 also yield a profit. The Murre, not being a shy bird, is easily 



