210 BIRDS 



SNOWY OWL 



The Snowy Owl breeds from Labrador northward, and 

 wanders southward in winter into the northern United 

 States. 



Like the hawk owl, it is diurnal in its habits, but is most 

 active in early morning and again about dusk. Like the 

 hawk owl, too, it occupies a commanding perch for hours 

 on the watch, occasionally dropping on a rodent or sailing 

 about, soon to return to the same perch. 



"During January and February of 1902, there occurred 

 a remarkable invasion by snow owls, reported from locali- 

 ties as diverse as southern Michigan and Long Island. 

 They were especially abundant in Ontario, and were much 

 sought for their phmiage. According to Mr. Ruthven 

 Deane, * a Mr. Owens, taxidermist, living near Mooresville, 

 Middlesex County, received and mounted twenty-two speci- 

 mens during the winter, and commented on the fact that 

 thirteen years ago he prepared exactly the same number, 

 not having handled a single specimen during the interim.' 

 Mr. Deane collected information of more than 430 of these 

 owls that were killed during this one flight. 



"The home of the snowy owl is on the immense moss 

 and lichen covered tundras of the boreal regions, where it 

 leads an easy existence, finding an abundant supply of food 

 during the short Arctic summers. Hunting its prey at all 

 hours, it subsists principally upon the lemming, and it is 

 said to be always abundant wherever these rodents are 

 found in numbers. Other small rodents are also caught, 



