124 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
seen that upon two occasions I found the Snowy Owl feeding 
upon other food besides lemmings. Another instance was noticed 
by the Rey. C. Hodson, the Chaplain of our ship; he had wounded 
a Brent Goose, and while following it an Owl pounced upon the 
bird and tumbled it over and over. I have several times watched 
the Long-tailed Skua, Lestris parasiticus, harassing an Owl in a 
most insolent manner, flying at its head while seated in majestic 
indolence, flapping its wings and tail in its face, and screeching 
discordantly close to its ear, while the Owl preserved a dignified 
composure. Nor is the Skua the Owl’s only enemy. Once 
I found the shells of freshly-devoured owls’ eggs, while a quantity 
of Fox’s fur attested to a severe conflict. Another time a Wolf, 
which was seen to leave the floe and make inland, was tracked 
and in his path were found the wings and tails of a brood of 
young owls, which he had found time to devour on his way. 
From the middle of May Snowy Owls kept arriving, and by 
the middle of June they were breeding in numbers. By the 
beginning of August they had nearly all disappeared. Their 
residence at their breeding-quarters is thus about two months 
and a half, and this is rather more than the stay of most other 
species. Snowy Owls appear to have been by no means common 
in Polaris Bay, lat. 81° 40’, but Dr. Coppinger saw and gathered 
their pellets in several places. The following measurements will 
show the dimensions of a freshly-killed Arctic specimen, a female 
shot June 16th, 1876:—Entire length, 24 inches; length of tarsus, 
2'10in.; length of bill along ridge, 1°11 in.; length from rictus to 
outer edge, 1°10 in.; length of middle toe, 1*7 in.; length of claw 
on curve, 1°5 in.; length of tail past wing, 1 in.; extent of wings, 
58 in. First quill 1°10 inch shorter than second; second, 4 inches 
shorter than third; third equalling the fourth, and third and 
fourth longest. 
Wueatear, Saxicola wnanthe.—I saw Wheatears along the 
shores of Svarte-vogel Bay, and again at Proven; in each case a 
pair, and evidently breeding. 
Snow Buntine, Plectrophanes nivalis.—This was the most 
universally distributed bird along the shores we visited. Its 
friendly and cheering song at once renders it a favourite with the 
Arctic traveller. Its notes are varied, sweet, and lively. The 
common cry is the single plaintive tone of the Yellowhammer, 
while its song reminds one forcibly of the Whitethroat and of the 
