74 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



tlic statement tliat tliis liird always 1)reetls on tlie j^round in open places, 

 and frequently lays (luite a large numlier of eggs. Tliis specimen measures 

 2.50 inches in lengtii and 1.88 in breadth. It is oblong-oval in sha])e, 

 e([ually rounded at either end, and of a diUl soiled white. The egg is mucii 

 discolored, ajijjarently liy its contact with the ground. 



Mi: II. S. Hawkins (Ibis, IBTit, ]>. -W) gives an account of the nest and 

 eggs of this species, derived irom a correspondent at one of the Moravian 

 missionary stations on the coast of Labrador. The nest is said to consist of 

 only a few feathers, and to be ])laceil generally on a ledge of rocks where 

 there is a slight hollow, suiHcient to ])reveiit the eggs from rolling out, but 

 sometimes on the ground. The usual number of eggs is eight ; these are 

 not all laid and l)rooded at one time, Init the first two are often hatched by 

 the time tlie last is laid, so that you may find in one nest young birds, fresh 

 eggs, and others more or less incubated. 



Herr von Ileuglin, in his Notes on the birds of Xovaja Zemlia (Ibis, 1872, 

 p. Gl), mentions meeting with this Owl in Seal's Uay, on Matthew's Strait, 

 in the Sea of Kara, where he found three nests with two young birds covered 

 with down. The nest was formed ol' a shallow depression in the turf, without 

 any lining. The food of the Snowy Owl, in Novfija Zemlia, during the summer 

 time, consisted exclusively of a species of Mi/odi'^, wliich Avere \ery numerous. 

 The down of the young is plain l)rownish-giay. They were easily tamed, 

 and their comical gestures and vivacity are said to have been very anmsing. 



Captain ('. F. Hall, tlie celebrated Arctic voyager, during one of his 

 expeditions i'ound a nest and four eggs of this species on the bare ground. 

 These were jiacked up in an old moccasin, and sent, without emptying, to 

 the Smithsonian Institution, where, after an interval of several months, they 

 were successfully emptied, and are now among the choice treasures of the 

 national museum. 



Genus SURNIA, Dl-meril. 



Siirnia, Di'mkiul, Zoi)l. Anal. 1800, .14. (Tv|)c, Slrix iiluln, Lisx.) 



(tf.x. Char. Rizo niodiuni ; form clongiUi'd, iinil fjcncnil asppct liawk-liko. No car- 

 tufl.'!. Four outer quills with tlioii' iunur wolis .siuuuteil, tlio tliinl iouLrost ; tail noa;!}' a.<( 

 long as the winp, frrailuatcd. Kar-coiich suiali. siuiple, oval. Bill .slroufr, yellow ; eyes 

 .'iuiall, the iris yellow. Tarsi luiil toes thiekly cdvcred with soft deu.so leathers; tarsus 

 shorter than th(> middle toe. I'lunia;j; ' inurh uioi'e co!ii])act, and less <lowu}', and reiniijes 

 and rectriees stiller and siraighter than in other Owls. 



The single .species of tliis genus belongs exclusively to tlie cold temperate 

 and arctic zones of the Nortliern Hemis]ihere, and is circtimjiolar. Tlioiigh 

 somewhat hawk-like in its a]ipearance, it is nevertheless a true Owl, and 

 possesses no afhuities of structure with the Hawks, any more than otlier 

 species of Stri(jida. 



