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SNOWY OV^'^L.—Nyctea ivea. 



The general colour of this bh'd is dark spotted brown above and striped white below, 

 arranged briefly as follows. The top of the head and back is brown, covered with white 

 spots, the spots disappearing at the insertion of the wings, where a large patch of very- 

 dark brown is placed. The outer edge of the concha is jetty black, and its inner surface 

 is greyish-white. The throat is also white, and the chest and abdomen are of the same 

 tint, marked with a number of irregular stripes of ashen-brown. The tail is brown, 

 covered with a few narrow intercepted black bands. The legs are feathered as far as the 

 claws, and the bill is yellow with a few spots of black. These colours are slightly 

 variable in individuals, owing most probably to the difference of age, and in the female 

 they are not so bright as in her mate. 



The Snowy Owl is one of the handsomest of this group, not so much on account of 

 its dimensions, which are not very considerable, but by reason of the beautiful white 

 mantle with which it is clothed, and the large orange eyeballs that shine with a lustre 

 as of a living topaz set among the snowy plumage. 



This bird is i^roperly a native of the north of Europe and America, but has also a 

 few domains in the more northern parts of England, being constantly seen, though rather 

 a scarce bird, in the Shetland and Orkney Islands, where it builds and rears its young. 

 Like the Hawk Owl, it is a day-flying bu'd, and is a terrible foe to the smaller mammalia, 

 and to various birds. Mr. Yarrell, in his well-known History of the British Birds, remarks 

 that " one wounded on the Isle of Balta disgorged a young rabbit whole ; and that one 

 in my possession had in its stomach a young sandpiper with its plumage entire." It is 

 rather remarkable that the bird should have thus been swallowed whole, as I have always 

 remarked that when an Owl devours a little bird, he tears it to pieces before eating it, 

 though he always swallows a mouse entire. 



In proportion to its size the Snowy Owl is a mighty hunter, having been detected 

 in chasing the American hare, and carrying off wounded grouse before the sportsman 

 can secure his prey. According to Yarrell, the Swedish name of Harfang, which has 

 been given to this bird, is derived from its habit of feeding on hares. It is also a good 



