The Birds of Wyoming. 83 



"The rabbit undoubtedly stands at the head of the list 

 of the mammals most often fed upon by this Owl. In fact its 

 great love for the flesh of rabbits is one of this Owl's redeem- 

 ing qualities. In some parts of the West, where rabbits are 

 so numerous that it is next to impossible to bring to maturity 

 any" large prtfjiortion of the crops, this Owl feeds on this de- 

 structive rodent almost to the exclusion of other food. The ex- 

 amination of a number of stomachs revealed the fact that even 

 in the east, where rabbits are not so abundant, their remains 

 constitute a fairly large proportion of the contents. The writer 

 is of the belief that where rabbits are comparatively abundant 

 the species under consideration rarely molests poultry, and is 

 a prime factor in destroying these destructive rodents." 



In the west the abundance of mice, ground squirrels, as 

 well as rabbits, furnish abundant food for these owls, so that 

 they do not need to prey upon poultry or wild birds. 



Coues reports this species from Powder river and Deer 

 creek ; Jesurun finds them common at Douglas ; Bond has tak- 

 en several specimens at Horse creek ; Wood reports them from 

 Bridger Pass and Medicine Bow river ; Drexel took one speci- 

 men at Fort Bridger; I have taken this species at Sundance, 

 No Wood river. Big Laramie river and Bates' Hole. 



375 b. Bubo virginianus arcticus (Swains.). 

 Arctic Horned Owl. 



Probably a winter resident. None of the Wyoming col- 

 lectors have found this bird and it has been included in the 

 list upon the report in the A. O. U. Check List, 2nd Ed., p. 

 148, which reads as follows : "Geographical distribution 

 Arctic America, chiefly in the interior, south, in winter, to 

 Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. 



376. Nyctea nyctea (Linn.). 

 Snowy Owl. 



Winter resident; rare. But little is known of this beau- 

 tiful bird in Wyoming. Bond has taken a specimen at Chey- 



