The Snowy Owr..- 



-BIRDS.- 



-The Little Owi„ 



265 



adaptation to a diurnal activity is evidently in intimate 

 connection mtli the necessities of their existence; they 

 are, for the most part, inhabitants of those regions of 

 both hemispheres which lie within, or close to, the 

 arctic circle ; and as, during the summer, there is little 

 or no night in those latitudes, a nocturnal bird would 

 be but ill adapted to get his living there at that season. 



Of these diurnal species the Snowy Owl is a well- 

 known example. It is generally distributed over tlie 

 extreme northern parts of both hemispheres, descending 

 more towards the south in the winter, when the inhos- 

 pitable climate of the arctic regions would leave it but 

 little chance of finding prey. In this way it visits the 

 United States in the western, and Germany and Great 

 Britam in the eastern hemispheres, but it is a very rare 

 bird in this cowitry. Nevertlieless it would appear, 

 that not very long since it was a permanent resident in 

 the Shetland islands, building its nest and breeding 

 amongst the rocky ledges of their wild hills. 



The Snowy Owl is one of the largest species of this 

 family ; the male measuring twenty-three, and the 

 female twenty-six inches in length. It has a rather 

 long and rounded tail ; its plumage is white, with the 

 back spotted, and the wings, tail, and lower surface 

 barred, with dusky brown. These brown marks are 

 larger in the females and young birds than in the males. 

 The feet are thickly clothed with white feathers to tlie 

 extremities of the toes, wliich are armed with strong 

 black claws ; the bill is also black. Its habits have 

 been observed principally in North America, where 

 they were carefully studied by Audubon and Sir John 

 Richardson. Both these authors state that it hunts 

 during the day, and, Audubon adds, also in the dusk. 

 It flies well, passing swiftly over its hunting ground, 

 and capturing its prey by dashing suddenly down upon 

 it. In pursuing birds on the wing, such as ducks, 

 grouse, and pigeons, it strikes at them somewhat in the 

 manner of the peregi^iue falcon. Its terrestrial prey 

 consists of lemmings and hares ; the latter it has been 

 seen to pursue for some distance, grasping at the 

 animal repeatedly with its foot; and it generally de- 

 vours its victims on the spot, swallowing them whole 

 if not too large. It is also said to be dexterous in 

 fishing, often frequenting the borders of rivers for this 

 purpose, and capturing its finny prey most cleverly 

 by grasping with its foot as it sails along close to 

 the surface of the water. In the Orkneys, and other 

 places in the British islands where this bird has been 

 met with, it appears to haunt the rabbit waiTens and 

 to feed on their inhabitants. In Sweden its habit of 

 preying upon hares is said to have given origin to the 

 name of Harfang, which it bears in that country. Dr. 

 Kdmonston describes it as feeding upon sandpipers, on 

 which it pounces with great precision as it skims over 

 the marshes ; and fi-om his account it would appear 

 sometimes to swallow these birds whole. The same 

 writer tells us that in the Shetlands " it affects solitary, 

 stony, and elevated districts, which, by the similarity 

 to it in colour of the rocks, renders it difficult to be dis- 

 covered." On leaving its haunt, which it does only at 

 the approach of twilight in the Shetlands, it is often 

 pursued by crows and other birds, whose attacks it 

 treats with the most contemptuous mdifference. In 

 Vor,. I. 



captivity it appears to be gentle and tractable, and to 

 exhibit a considerable degree of intelligence. 



The accounts given by naturalists of the nesting of 

 the Snowy Owl vary somewhat according to the nature 

 of the country in which the birds have been observed. 

 Thus, in Europe the birds have been found to breed 

 on the ledges of steep rocks and on the old pine trees 

 of the north ; but in the fur countries of North America, 

 Dr. Richardson describes them as making their nests 

 on the ground. Their eggs are three or four in num- 

 ber, and of a wliite coloiu'. 



THE HAWK OWL [Surnia Ulula), wliich is neariy 

 allied to the preceding, is also found in the high 

 northern latitudes of both hemispheres, descending 

 towards the south only during the winter. It is con- 

 siderably smaller than the snowy owl, the male mea- 

 suring only about fifteen inches in length, and the 

 female seventeen. It is of different shades of dark 

 brown and black, mottled and barred with dull white 

 on the back and wings; the lower surface is dingy 

 white with numerous transverse brown bars; the tail 

 feathers are barred with brown and white, the beak is 

 yellow, the claws horn-coloured, and the feet clothed 

 with long whitish feathers to tlie very extremities of 

 the toes. 



The Hawk Owl is a bold and active bird, which, like 

 the snowy owl, flies and pursues his prey by day-liglit. 

 He feeds on partridges and grouse, and during the 

 simimer to a great extent on mice and insects; and so 

 bold is this owl, that he T\all even descend upon a bird 

 which has just been shot, and carry it off before the 

 eyes of the sportsman. The snowy owl has also been 

 known to perform the same feat. The nest of the 

 Hawk Owl is built in a tree, and composed of sticks, 

 grass, and feathers ; the eggs are two in number, and 

 of a white colour. 



THE UTILE RUFOUS OWL {Athene Noctua), the 

 Little Owl of some English ornithologists, is a rare bird 

 in this country, but common on most parts of the 

 European continent. It measures scarcely ten inches 

 in length, and is of a greyish-brown colour with a 

 reddish tinge above, variegated with white spots of 

 different sizes. The throat, breast, and belly are white, 

 the two latter marked with longitudinal brown spots ; 

 the beak is yellowish-brown. The feathers ■nith which 

 the feet of tins bird — and of the other species of its 

 genus, which are numerous — are clothed, are very 

 slender and bristle-like, presenting a great contrast to 

 the thick plumage with which these parts are covered 

 in most species of the family. The Rufous Owl 

 lives in old houses and ruined towers, in the cavities ot 

 which it builds its nest. It is nocturnal, or at least 

 crepuscular in its habits, and feeds upon mice, bats, 

 and insects, and also upon small birds, which it cap- 

 tures while at roost. The female lays two eggs of a 

 white colour. 



THE LITTLE OWL {Athene passerina), the only 

 other European species of this genus, is still smaller 

 than the preceding, measuring only about seven inclies 

 in length. It has the upper parts of a brownish-ash 

 colour, with white or reddish-white points and lines, 

 and the lower parts of dazzling whiteness with numer- 

 ous longitudinal brown spots. The feet are wliite 



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