Horned and Hoot Owls 



Snowy Owl 



(Nyctea nyctea) 



Length — About 2 feet. 



Male and Female — White, more or less barred or spotted with 

 dusky; some specimens almost entirely white, the female 

 usually the more heavily barred; the face, throat, and feet 

 being in all birds the whitest parts; legs and feet thickly 

 feathered ; iris yellow ; bill and claws black ; no ear tufts. 



-ffaw^if— "Northern portions of northern hemisphere. In North 

 America breeding wholly north of the United States; in 

 winter migrating south to the middle states, straggling to 

 South Carolina, Texas, California, and Bermuda." A. O. U. 



Season — Winter visitor. 



No Arctic explorer has yet penetrated too far north to find the 

 Snowy Owl. Private Long of the Greely expedition, who raised 

 six of these owlets, released them only because food became scarce 

 enough for men during the second winter of hardship, much 

 less for such greedy pets. "They had inordinate appetites," says 

 the commander, "and from the time they were caught, as young 

 owlets, swallowed anything given to them. 1 remember one 

 bolting whole a sandpiper about half his own size. Over a hun- 

 dred and fifty skuas (robber gulls) were killed and fed to these 

 owls. It was interesting to note that, although they had never 

 used their wings, the owls flew well." In another volume. Gen- 

 eral Greely describes the snowy owl's egg as "somewhat larger 

 than, though closely resembling, the white egg of a hen. Ser- 

 geant Israel found it very palatable. The male bird showed signs 

 of fight when the egg was taken, while the female looked on 

 from about one hundred yards. The first owl observed was on 

 April 29th, since then one or more have been frequently seen. 

 The nest is a mere hole hollowed out on the summit of a com- 

 manding knoll, and furnished with a few scattered feathers, 

 grass, etc." 



The lemming, ptarmigan, ducks, and other water-fowl are 

 the snowy owl's main dependence. It is an expert fisher, too. 

 and borne up by the seaweed, it patiently waits for finny prey 

 to swim among the rocks, when, quicker than thought, they are 

 captured. The Arctic hare, though double its own weight, is 



348 



