232 RELIQULE AQUITANICLE. 



have hitherto been remarked there. It no longer belongs to our fauna, but is 

 banished to the coldest regions, not only of Europe, but of America ; it has there- 

 fore followed the Reindeer in its successive migrations ; and, like that Mammal, 

 its presence in France may be considered a sure indication of a relatively very 

 low temperature at the period of its living there. 



In Norway the Harfang is not rare, and the number of individuals seems to be 

 in relation to that of the Lemmings. Mr. Dresser, in his excellent ' History of 

 the Birds of Europe,' gives us some interesting information on this subject, for 

 which he was indebted to Mr. Collett of Christiania : " In the summer and 

 autumn of 1872, immense numbers of Lemmings (Myodes lemmus) migrated south 

 and north from the Dovrefjeld and its ramifications, also from the fells in Sondre 

 Throndhjems Amt, whence they made their way along the frontier towards Jemt- 

 land in Sweden. In these localities the number of Snowy Owls was observed 

 gradually to increase, becoming in the course of the summer much greater than 

 had been the case even of late years under similar circumstances "*. 



In the north of Sweden and in Lapland the Snowy Owl is less common, although 

 frequently met with. 



In Siberia, Middendorff mentions it among the birds which are not rare. 

 Schrenck found it further southward, in the valley of the Amoor, but only in 

 winter ; and Radde assures us that during that season it extends into Mongolia. 

 In these different localities it feeds principally on Lagomys ogotoma. 



In North America it abounds, and remains there throughout the year within 

 the coldest regions. According to Mr. Elliott Coues, it frequents the parts which 

 are destitute of forests, where, just as in Norway, its food consists principally of 

 Lemmings, which it hunts in the daytime as well as in the evening. 



In Greenland it is more common in the north than in the south ; it is rare in 

 Spitzbergen, as well as in Iceland. 



The Arctic regions, then, may be regarded as the present home of the Harfang ; 

 but it sometimes appears outside those limits, though in an irregular manner. 

 Thus, during the winter, it is sometimes seen in Poland, the north of Germany, 

 and even in Bohemia. It appears almost every year in Denmark. Lastly, from 

 time to time stray individuals have been noted in Holland, in the British Isles, 

 and even in France, where, Degland informs us, a young one was killed near 

 Abbeville. But these isolated cases must be considered accidental; they are 

 birds that have lost their way, having removed further and further, during severe 

 winters, from their usual habitat. 



* A History of the Birds of Europe, Part xxiii. <fe xxiv. : Nyctea scandiaca, p. 9. 



