TEE DUSKY HORNED OWL. 389 



Its general habits and food are similar to those of the preceding races. In 

 the northern parts of its range nidification, as far as known, begins about the 

 middle of April, and from two to four eggs are probably laid, and these are 

 indistinguishable from those of the other Horned Owls. 



Of the three specimens previously mentioned, the two taken by Mr. R. 

 Kennicott., near Fort Yukon, Alaska, April 16, 1862, measure 55 by 47.5 and 

 52.5 by 48 millimetres, and the other, from Fort Niscopec, Labrador, taken 

 by Mr. H. Connelly, measures 57.5 by 48.5 millimetres. None are figured. 



137. Nyctea nyctea ( 



SNOWY OWL. 



Strix nyctea LINNAEUS, Systema Naturae, ed. 10, i, 1758, 93. 

 Nyctea nyctea LICHTENSTEIN, Notnenclator Museo Berolinensis, 1854, 7. 



(B 61, C 325, R 406, C 479, U 376.) 



GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Extreme northern portions of northern hemisphere in 

 summer; migrating southward in winter in North America, almost across the United 

 States, and even reaching, accidentally, the Bermudas. 



The breeding range of the Snowy Owl in North America extends from 

 about latitude 53 in Labrador north to the Arctic Sea, and it has been 

 observed at the highest latitudes our Arctic explorers have as yet been able 

 to reach. It is likewise common in Greenland during the breeding season, 

 but much more so in the northern than the southern portions. Both Downes 

 and Reeks report it abundant in Newfoundland during the greater part of 

 the year, but I cannot find any positive records that it has actually been 

 found breeding on this island, though it may do so in limited numbers in 

 the less often visited parts of the interior. It is very doubtful if it nests at 

 any time south of latitude 53 N., although it has been reported as nesting 

 occasionally in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and northern Maine. Mr. Le 

 Grand T. Meyer records it as breeding in Manitoba, the exact locality not 

 stated, where he says he found a nest containing six more or less incubated 

 eggs, February 26, 1879. He states: "I learned that a pair had used the 

 same nest for two years. * * * The nest, aggregated by the several 

 additions, was about 18 inches above the level of the prairie, composed of 

 hay, grass, and sticks, warmly lined with feathers from their breasts." 1 



Gen. A. W. Greely, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Army, mentions a nest 

 of this species taken near Fort Conger, Grinnell Land, May 25, 1882, and 

 young birds on July 8. He says: "The Snowy Owls bred abundantly in 

 the vicinity of Fort Conger, and as many as fifteen or twenty-five young 

 birds were raised in 1882, and kept by us until approaching winter com- 

 pelled us to release them. A nest near Fort Conger resembled that described 

 by Major Feilden, which was a mere hollow scooped out of the earth and 



1 Oologints Exchange, Vol. I, No. 4. I give this record, but have not been able to verify it. C. B. 



