SNOWY OWL 



376. Xyctea nyctea. 25 in. 



Xo ear tufts. Plumage white, more or less heavily 

 spotted with black, the female usually being quite 

 strongly barred on the back. They are locally abundant 

 in the far north, preferring low, mossy lands to the 

 more timbered districts. Here they find an abundance 

 of food during the summer months, living upon hares, 

 lemmings, ptarmigan and ducks. They are about the 

 equal of the Horned Owl in strength, and usually will 

 weigh a few ounces more; they will frequently kill 

 animals or birds as heavy, or heavier, than themselves. 

 i They also catch a great many fish; these they get in 

 shallow water among the rock- weed covered stones, by 

 reaching down quickly and seizing their prey in their 

 strong claws. 



Nest. On the ground in dry portions of marshes; 

 the 2 to 8 eggs are pure white. 



Range. Breeds from Labrador and Hudson Bay, 

 northward, and possibly farther south; winters cas- 

 ually to the Middle States, and commonly to Minne- 

 sota and Maine. 



