The Oologist. 



Vol. XXIII. No. 4. 



Albion, N. Y., April, 1906. 



Whole No. 225 



THE OOLOGIST, 



A Monthly Publication Devoted to 



OOLOGY, ORNITHOLOGY AND TAXI- 

 DERMY. 



FRANK H. LATTIN, Publisher, 



ALBION, N. Y. 



ERNEST H. SHORT, Editor and Manager. 



Correspondence and items of interest to the 

 student of Birds, their Nests and Eggs, solicited 

 from all. 



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CORRESPONDENCE. 



Snowy Owl. 

 Nyctea nyctea. 



By CHARLES L. PHILLIPS, 

 Taunton, Mass. 



This beautiful diurnal owl is a res- 



ident of the far north. It doubtless 

 even visits the country around that 

 magnetic center which thus far has 

 baffled Arctic explorers, or the polar 

 region, which seems to be very se- 

 curely sealed by ice and snow. This 

 species was said to be abundant 

 around Point Barrow, Northern Alas- 

 ka, and a relative, who was a member 

 cf the Vincent relief expedition on 

 the revenue cutter Bear, said that 

 when he first saw around this land; 

 and noted the swift polar current 

 bringing ice blocks in size fram a 

 small fragment to large bergs, in 

 quantities, from the frigid north, he 

 had no desire to penetrate farther in- 

 to that cold, bleak, desolate region. 

 As far as eye could see into that 

 northern ocean, crystalline ice only 

 met the vision. And yet this rugged 

 owl crosses these frigid stretches and 

 probably breeds in the unknown be- 

 yond, for they have been found as 

 far north as human beings have pene- 

 trated. 



Nyctea breeds in the higher parts of 

 Newfoundland, in Labrador, the coun- 

 try directly north, in Alaska, and 

 probably throughout intermediate 

 points. The nest is usually a slight 

 depression, preferably on a knoll, 

 lined with a few feathers and perhaps 

 a little moss. The eggs are white and 

 range from three to ten and are depos- 

 ited from the middle of May to July 

 1st, according to locality. They art- 

 laid at intervals, it is said, and some- 

 times the first bird of the season is 

 ready to fly before the last one breaks 

 from the shell. 



In winter a small proportion of 



