THE SNOWY OWL. 79 
general migration down from the fells, and the Owls would be far more numerous 
than usual. A belief prevails among the Laps that the Snowy Owl becomes 
whiter in winter, and that the female is always purer in colour than the male. 
Not long ago in a Bristol paper the Snowy Owl was described as ‘“‘ the splendid 
silver-spangled Owl,’’—the writer of the paragraph must have been a poultry fancier 
—however, these words would probably convey to many people an adequate idea 
of the plumage. 
The Snowy Owl is said to indulge occasionally in singular evolutions in the 
air, darting about from side to side, and then falling prone upon the ground with 
expanded wings; all the time being as watchful as ever, so that should any one 
attempt to take advantage of its play, it rises long before he can get near, making 
off with a mocking cry. 
A few days before the Snowy Owl was trapped on Exmoor another had been 
shot on a rabbit warren in the south of Devon by a boy of ten, the grandson of 
the warrener. Others were recorded in the county papers as having been seen 
about the same date, so that Devonshire was probably then visited by a small 
flock of these fine Owls. 
The Snowy Owl passes with quick noiseless flight over the fells and marshy 
parts of the shore, “‘more like a large animated snow-flake than a bird,” seizing 
its prey by darting quickly down upon it, and usually devours it on the spot. 
When it descends to the wooded districts it is said to watch grouse-shooters from 
some perch on a high tree, and to skim down and carry off the birds that fall to 
their guns. The Laplanders eat this Owl, and sailors on the Arctic seas say that 
it makes “excellent beef.” 
The Snowy Owl does well in confinement, and becomes very docile; and has 
received the title of an ‘“‘amiable Owl.” When Swaysland had his collection of 
tame Owls on the West Pier at Brighton, among them was a fine female Snowy 
Owl, whose breast the writer often stroked, and the Owl seemed pleased at being 
taken notice of. The Snowy Owl has laid eggs in an aviary, but there is no 
record of its having reared any young in captivity. 
The Snowy Owl has its plumage white; the head and back are spotted with 
dusky brown; and the wings, tail, and lower parts are barred with the same 
colour. The older the birds become, the narrower become the transverse markings, 
and the fewer and smaller the spots, until in some very old birds the dark mark- 
ings are quite obliterated, and the plumage is perfectly white. The head is large 
and round; facial disks incomplete above the eyes; ruff incomplete; wings large, 
broad, and rounded; tail rather long, and rounded, exceeding the closed wings by 
about an inch and a half. The irides are bright yellow. 
