SNOWY-OWL. 311 



ing of a large frog. He did not appear to be in 

 the least distressed by the light. The shaded 

 apartment was an unnecessary precaution, for he 

 never entered it during the day ; indeed, he was 

 rather more lively in the morning than in the 

 afternoon, staring abroad with his bright orange 

 eyes at all that was passing. The Snowy Owl 

 may therefore be set down as a diurnal species, or 

 belonging to the Accipitrine family of Temminck." 

 The birds killed in Northumberland frequented 

 a wild and rocky part of the open moor, and were 

 generally seen perched on the snow, or on some 

 large stone projecting from it.* Dr Richardson 

 <*ays that " it hunts in the day. When seen on the 

 jarren grounds, it was generally squatting on the 

 earth, but if put up, alighted again after a short 

 flight, but was always so wary as to be approached 

 with great difficulty. It preys on lemings, hares, 

 and birds, particularly the willow grouse and ptar- 

 migan. I have seen it pursue the American hare 

 on the wing, making repeated strokes at the 

 animal with its foot."t "Wilson mentions it feed- 

 ing on carrion occasionally, which he has perhaps 

 borrowed from the account of Hearne, and he 

 also corroborates the account of its hunting by 

 day, and records the bird as a fisher. " He is 

 particularly fond of frequenting the shores and 



* Illust. British Ornith. i. p. 98. 

 f North. 2ool. ki. p. U9. 



