SNOWY OWL. 137 



on the wings and back part of the head, back, shoulders, 

 and breast ; the latter frequently representing waved bars. 

 Younger birds are generally marked and spotted as follows : — 

 The face, throat, upper part of the breast, and woolly feather- 

 ing of the legs are white; the top of the head and back part 

 of the neck are marked with small round dusky spots, which 

 become larger towards the back, but decrease in number on 

 the rump ; on the shoulders and wing- coverts the spots are 

 numerous, and crescent shaped ; those on the breast and side 

 feathers are narrow, transverse, and of a lighter colour ; the 

 quill-feathers are marked with large dusky spots, and the tail- 

 feathers, with the exception of the cuter, which are quite 

 white, have one half-moon shaped spot near the tips, and 

 some dusky round spots near their roots. 



