SNOW OWL. 297 
along the sides; belly and vent, white; legs and feet, flesh colored ; 
third wing-feather from the body, nearly as long as the tip of the wing: 
when shut. : ‘ od 
I can perceive little or no difference between the colors and mark- 
ings of the male and female. : 
‘ 4 
——~-—_—_ 
, 
SNOW OWL.—STRIX NYCTEA.— Fic. 145.— Mats. 
Lath. i. 132, No. 17. — Buff. i. 387.— Great White Owl, Edw. 61.— Snowy Owl, 
: Arct. Zool. 233, No. 121.— Peale’s Museum, No. 458. 
SURNIA NYCTEA. —Dumen. 
Snowy Owl, Mont. Orn. Dict. Supp.— Bewick’s Brit. Birds, Supp. — Snowy Owl, 
Strix nyctea, Selby’s Brit. Orn. p. 58, pl. 23.—Strix nyctea, Temm. Man. i. 
p. 82. — Flem. Br. Anim. p. 58.— Bonap. Synop. p. 36.— North. Zool. ii. p. 88. 
Tris great northern hunter inhabits the coldest and most dreary 
regions of the northern hemisphere on both continents. The forlorn 
mountains of Greenland, covered with eternal ice and snows, where, 
for nearly half the year, the silence of death and desolation might 
almost be expected to reign, furnish food and shelter to this hardy 
adventurer; whence he-is.only driven by the extremé ‘severity of 
weather towards the sea-shore. He is found in Lapland, Norway, and 
the country near Hudson’s Bay, during the whole year; is said to be 
common in Siberia, and numerous in Kamtschatka. He is often seen 
in Canada and the northern districts of the United States; and some- 
times extends his visits to the borders of Florida. Nature, ever, 
provident, has so effectually secured this bird from the attacks of cold, 
that not even a point is left exposed. The bill is almost completely 
hid among a mass of feathers that cover the face ; the legs are clothed 
with such an exuberance of long, thick, hair-like plumage, as to appear 
nearly as large as those of a middle-sized dog, nothing being visible 
but the claws,which are large, black, much hooked, and extremely 
sharp. The whole plumage below the surface is of the most exqui- 
sitely-soft, warm, and elastic kind, and so closely matted together as to 
make it'a difficult matter to penetrate to the skin. 
The usual food of this species is said to be hares, grouse, rabbits, 
ducks, mice, and even carrion. Unlike most of his tribe, he hunts by 
day. as well.as by twilight,.and is, particularly 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 instantanéous stroke of the foot, 
seldom missing his aim. In the more southern and thickly-settled 
parts, he is seldom seen; and when he appears, his size, color, and 
singular aspect, attract general notice.* 
* The following observations by Mr. Bree, of Allesly, taken from Loudon’s Mag- 
azine of Natural History, will show that other Owls also fish for their prey :— 
. 
