SNOWY OWL 



PLATE XXIV. FIGURE I. 



Nyctea scandiaica, ... . LINNJEUS. 



Surnia nyctea, ...... SEEBOHM. 



THE nest of this magnificent bird is made on the ground, 

 or upon rocks. 



The eggs are white, and from six to eight in number. 

 They are not all hatched together ; sometimes the first are 

 hatched before the last are laid, and, as Mr. Collett says, 

 "a natural consequence is that the young of each brood 

 are widely different in appearance, according to the stage 

 of growth which each has attained. Thus the first of the 

 brood will be almost fledged before the last has broken the 

 shell. And, again, the nestlings, thickly clad with down, 

 necessarily assist in process of incubation ; the old birds 

 have enough to do to provide for the young already hatched, 

 several of which, being more than half-grown, require a good 

 deal of food." 



