136 LAP OWL. 
is described at great length, and minuteness by Swainson. The follow- 
ing is Dr. Richardson's account: — 
"This bird is the largest of the North American Owls; it was first 
described by Latham in his "Synopsis," page 134. It is by no means 
a rare bird in the fur countries, being an inhabitant of all the woody 
districts lying between Lake Superior and latitude 67 or 68, and between 
Hudson's Bay and the Pacific. It is common on the borders of Great 
Bear Lake, and there and in the higher parallels of latitude it must 
pursue its prey during the summer months by day-light. It keeps 
however within the woods, and does not frequent the barren ground 
like the Snowy Owl, but hunts principally when the sun is low; indeed 
it is only at such times when the recesses of the woods are deeply 
shadowed, that the American hare and the marine animals, upon which 
it chiefly preys, come forth to feed. On the 23rd. of May I discovered 
a nest of this Owl built on the top of a lofty balsam poplar, made 
of sticks and lined with feathers. It contained three young, which. 
were covered with whitish down. We got them by felling the tree, 
which was remarkably thick; and whilst this operation was going on, 
the two parent birds flew in circles round the objects of their care; 
keeping however so high in the air as to be out of gunshot: they did 
not appear to be dazzled by the light. The young ones were kept 
alive for two months, when they made their escape. They had the 
habits common also to other Owls, of throwing themselves back and 
making a loud snapping noise with their bills when any one entered 
the room where they were kept." 
To this account Mr. Swainson adds, "This bird has the posterior 
half of its bill covered with cere, rounded or swelled out on the sides, 
and very slightly arched on the ridge; the curved point moderately 
compressed, much resembling that of Strix brachyota. Its auditory 
concha is much larger than that of S. {Bubo) Virginiana, but very 
considerably less in proportion than that of S. brachyota, though the 
operculum is larger than in this bird." 
Although described as common in the fur country by Richardson, 
it is rare in the United States. Audubon only records two instances 
of its capture, and he saw it once or twice. His figure of the bird 
is taken from an unusually large female, thirty inches long and forty- 
eight inches and a half across the wings, in the Gardens of the 
London Zoological Society. The following is his account of the habits 
of one of the specimens captured alive, as related in his "American 
Ornithology," vol. iv., page 364: — 
"No where common in America, but ranges from the north-east 
coast of the United States to the source of the Columbia River. One 
