SNOWY OWL. 241 



to be a diurnal bird; it preys on white partridges, 

 and continues in Hudson's Bay all the year. The 

 bill is hooked, like a Hawk's, having no angles on 

 the sides, is all black with wide nostrils; the bill 

 almost covered with stiff feathers like hairs, planted 

 round its basis, and reflected forward : the eyes 

 are encompassed with bright yellow irides : the 

 head, whole body, wings, and tail, are of a pure 

 white colour: the top of the head is spotted with 

 small dirty brown spots : the upper part of the 

 back is painted with transverse lines of dusky 

 brown, as are the sides under the wings, but with 

 smaller and fainter lines : the quills on their outer 

 webs are spotted with dusky, and some few little 

 dusky spots on the covert-feathers of the wings: 

 the covert-feathers withinside of the wings are 

 purely white: the lower part of the back is spotless: 

 the middle feathers of the tail on the upper side 

 have a few spots on each side the shafts of the 

 feathers : the legs and feet are covered with white 

 feathers: the claws are long, strong, and of a black 

 colour, very sharp pointed. Another bird of this 

 kind came to my hands together with this, which 

 differed only in that it had more and darker 

 spots." 



A beautiful variety of this bird existed in the 

 Leverian Museum : it was every where, except on 

 the face, and legs, most elegantly spotted with 

 numerous transverse lunated brown marks, run- 

 ning into short interrupted bands over the neck and 

 on all the under parts of the bird. This varietv 

 is figured in the second volume of the Naturalist's 



v. vu. 16 



