BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 271 



snatching up the game when it falls. liittle is known about 

 it here, since it is but seldom that it wanders into New Eng- 

 land. 



The Snowy Owl, Strix nyctea, is ' ore common in Massa- 

 chusetts than in most other states of the Union. It makes its 

 appearance at the approach of winter ; its large size and snowy 

 plumage are well suited to resist the climate in the icy solitudes 

 where it dwells, and nothing but the difficulty of procuring 

 a subsistence, drives it from its favorite home. There, it 

 delights in the stern solitude of a night which lasts for half 

 the year, and its dismal cries, resembling those of a man 

 screaming in agony, are said to increase the dreariness even of 

 that fearfully desolate scene. When it is compelled to wander 

 in search of food, it is quite abundant in Canada ; often found 

 in the most northern states, and occasionally seen as far south 

 as Florida. It frequents the banks of streams, sailing slowly 

 over the surface, or takes its station on a rock, watching for 

 its prey ; and the moment a fish appears, it secures it by a sud- 

 den grasp of its claw. Its food, however, is various, consisting 

 of rabbits, grouse, ducks, and mice ; it is probably the pursuit 

 of rats and mice which brings it near the abodes of men, 

 where it would not be caught by accident, since it has power 

 to see both by night and by day. 



Audubon believes- that he has reason for asserting that the 

 yellowish whiteness which makes the plumage of this owl so 

 rich and beautiful, is not acquired till after a certain age. He 

 has shot many which were of an uniform light brown ; these 

 he formerly thought were of a different species ; but now he 

 considers them the young of the snowy owl. 



This bird is said to breed in the northern parts of the state 

 of Maine, but there is, as yet, no sure authority for the asser- 

 tion. Their nests are not found in Labrador nor Newfound- 

 land : probably they are to be sought for in the highest lati- 

 tudes, since the snowy owl comes to us like a herald of the 

 winter storms, and spends the rest of the year in his Arctic 

 home. 



