210 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 



preys largely on the several species of grouse. The lynx 

 will kill foxes, and it is claimed that deer and caribou are 

 sometimes attacked. 



Bobcat or Bay Lynx. — This <;lose relative of the Canada 

 lynx is slightly smaller than the latter, and its fur is of a 

 dark-brown colour; it lacks the long black ear- tufts, and 

 only the upper side of the tip of the tail is coloured black. 

 It is confined to the east, and in Nova Scotia a distinct 

 variety, commonly called the wildcat, occurs. In many 

 places in Nova Scotia the wildcat is destructive to sheep, 

 for which reason it is destroyed whenever possible. Like 

 its near relative it is an enemy of ground-game such as 

 grouse. 



Foxes. — All the species of foxes, particularly the red fox, 

 are destructive to our native game-birds. 



Pkedatory Birds 



The Great Horned Owl. — While most of the owls are bene- 

 ficial as the destroyers of noxious rodents, such as mice and 

 moles, the great horned owl is one of the most destructive 

 of the large predatory birds. The various subspecies of 

 great horned owl are found from Nova Scotia, where it is 

 known as the ''cat-owl," owing to the ear-like tufts of 

 feathers on its head, to British Columbia, and throughout 

 the northern forests to the limit of tree growth. Its home 

 is the heavily forested and unsettled regions. But when 

 its food supplies become reduced it migrates southward, and 

 during recent years there have been large numbers of these 

 birds killed in the most southern portions of its range. It 

 is a great enemy of grouse and other game-birds, and is 

 detested by the farmer on account of its destructive raids 

 on poultry. 



Goshawk. — This hawk is undoubtedly the greatest de- 

 stroyer of game-birds of all the species of hawks, most of 



