| e ^ 
. 84 Mr. Peabody on the 
known, from its practice of following the hunter 
and snatching up the game when it falls. Little is 
known about it here, since it is but seldom that it 
wanders into New England. 
The Snowy Owr, Striz nyctea, is more common 
in Massachusetts than in most other states of the 
Union. It makes its appearance at the approach of 
winter; its large size and snowy plumage are well 
suited to resist the climate, in the icy solitudes where 
it dwells, and nothing but the difficulty of procuring 
a subsistence, drives it from its favorite home. 
-— 
There, it delights in the stern solitude of a night - 
which lasts for half the year, and its dismal cries, 
resembling those of a man screaming in agony, are 
said to increase the dreariness even of that fearfully 
desolate scene. When it is compelled to wander in 
search of food, it is quite abundant in Canada ; often 
found in the most northern states, and occasionally 
seen as far south as Florida. It frequents the banks 
of streams, sailing slowly over the surface, or takes 
its station on a rock, watching for its prey ; and the 
moment a fish appears, it secures it by a sudden 
grasp of its claw. Its food, however, is various, con- 
sisting of rabbits, grouse, ducks, and mice; it is 
probably the pursuit of rats and mice which brings 
it near the abodes of men, where it would not be 
caught by accident, since it has power to see both 
by night and by day. 
Audubon believes that he has reason for asserting 
that the yellowish whiteness which makes the plu- 
mage of this owl so rich and beautiful, is not ac- 
kv t QE i AS a i s AI hI i tip a Uf PAESE RD AGBS Dirt QA 
