356 LAND-BIRDS. 



a. About two feet long. Snowy white; more or 

 marked with brown or blackish. 



b. The eggs are laid on the ground in arctic countries. 

 They are white, and nearly or quite 2J inches long. 



c. The Snowy Owls, as their very thick and white plumage 

 suggests, are arctic birds, though in winter they wander 

 southward in considerable numbers, being then more common 

 in Massachusetts than any other species of this family with so 

 high a range. It is said that, though rare in the interior, they 

 are of not unfrequent occurrence along the coast, since they 

 feed much upon fish, which they often catch for themselves. 

 They have several times been captured on the islands of Bos- 

 ton Harbor, and I am quite confident of having seen one fly 

 over the city. They may also be met with further inland, 

 where they feed upon quadrupeds and birds. They hunt 

 chiefly during the day, or just after sunset, and, instead of 

 pouncing upon other birds, often pursue them on wing, thus 

 resembling the Hawks. As they feed upon Grouse (or even, it 

 is said, upon Ducks and Pigeons), they evidently possess great 

 speed. Owing to their size and handsome plumage, they are 

 striking objects in winter scenery, though often rendered in- 

 conspicuous by their likeness to the snow and ice. Though 

 spirited, they exhibit much less ferocity than the Great 

 Horned Owls, and are said to be more tractable as pets. 



d. Wilson says of this species that " its voice is so dismal 

 that, as Pennant observes, it adds horror even to the regions 

 of Greenland by its hideous cries, resembling those of a man 

 in deep distress." The same author, in describing the method 

 of fishing pursued by this Owl, says : " Unlike most of his 

 tribe he hunts by day as well as by twilight, and is partic- 

 ularly fond of frequenting the shores and banks of shallow 

 rivers, over the surface of which he slowly sails, or sits on a 

 rock a little raised above the water watching for fish. . These 

 he seizes with a sudden and instantaneous stroke of the foot, 

 seldom missing his aim." 



