Mr. W. Thompson on the Migration of the Snoivy Owl. 107 



XIII. — Note on theMlgratioyi of the Snowy Owl, Surnia nyctea, 

 Dam. By Wm. Thompson, Esq., Vice-President of the 

 Natural History Society of Belfast. 



I HAVE the pleasure on this occasion of recording a novel and 

 interesting fact in the history of that beautiful bird, the 

 Snowy Owl. By the ship ^ John and Robert^ (Captain 

 McKechnie), of 501 tons burden, belonging to the port of 

 Belfast, and which arrived here from Quebec early in the 

 month of December last, three specimens of this bird, ^vhicli 

 had been caught on board, were brought hither alive. A 

 fourth individual, similarly obtained, died about the time the 

 vessel entered Belfast bay. 



These birds were captured either at twilight or when dark, 

 as they perched on the rigging ; the sailors observing that 

 they were asleep before attempting to lay hold of them. 

 They were kept on flesh-meat, which, for the first ten days, 

 was forced down their throats, but after this time they fed 

 themselves ; in about fifteen days after their capture the ves- 

 sel came into port. These three birds, of which two are 

 males and the other a female, are very fine examples of the 

 Siii'nia nyctea ; a more splendid specimen than the last- 

 mentioned, which died and is now in my possession, I have 

 not seen. All of them I should consider birds of the year, 

 and from the one that died having been described to me as 

 similar to mine, it probably was so likewise*. 



Having heard that these were part of a large ^^ flight^^ of 

 Snow-y Owls that were for several days seen about the vessel, 

 I — never having read any account of this species being met 

 with on its migration — made the fullest inquiry into the sub- 

 ject. The captain obligingly replied to all my queries, and 

 besides furnished me with the log-book of the ship. 



It may in the first place be desirable to give an extract 

 from the ^ log' for a week previous to their occurrence, that 

 w^e may learn if the state of the wind, &c., will account for the 



* See remarks on this subject in the 1st vol. of ' Annals', p. 243. Two 

 of the Snowy Owls there noticed, which have since been kept in a spacious 

 garden containing many fruit trees, never perch upon them, but remain 

 constantly on the ground, although in rainy weather a portion of their snow- 

 white plumage is thereby much soiled, greatly to the disadvantage of their 

 appearance. 



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