BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 165 



It is a resident in the extreme north of the Palearctic and 

 also Nearctic Regions, and in winter is met with farther 

 south. The adult male has the whole of the plumage 

 white, with a few spots of dark brown here and there on 

 the upper parts ; irides, rich yellow ; legs and feet, clothed 

 with k>ng white feathers. Length, from nineteen to twenty- 

 four inches. 



HAWK OWL. 



THE Hawk Owl (Surnia funerea, Linnseus) is an exceed- 

 ingly rare wandering winter migrant to the British Islands. 

 It inhabits the Northern Nearctic Region, and in winter 

 moves southward to the northern portion of the United 

 States. The adult has the general colouration of the upper 

 plumage blackish-brown, blotched, mottled, and barred with 

 dullish white; under parts, white, with bars of reddish- 

 brown ; tail, graduated, and marked with narrow bars of 

 white, and broadly tipped with white ; irides, pale yellow ; 

 bill, straw colour ; legs and feet, covered with whitish 

 feathers. Length, from fifteen to sixteen inches. The 

 female is larger than the male. (P. 166.) 



