OWL. 331 



28— WAPACUTHU OWL. 



Strix Wapacuthu, /«J. Orn. i. p. 58. G'?n. Z,i«. i. 291. Daurf. ii. 189. Shaw's Zool. 



yii. 243. Vieill. Am. i. p. 47. 

 Wapacuthu Owl, Gen. Si/n. Sup, p. 49. Arct. Zool. n. No. 19. 



LENGTH 2 ft. ; breadth 4 ft. ; weight 5 lbs. Bill black ; irides 

 j^ellow ; space between the eyes, the throaty and cheeks white; ends 

 of the feathers of the head black; scapulars and wing coverts white, 

 elegantly barred mth dusky and reddish marks, pointing downward ; 

 primaries, secondaries, and tail feathers irregularly spotted, and 

 baiTed with pale red and black ; back and tail coverts marked with a 

 few dusky spots ; breast and belly dirty white, crossed with innu- 

 merable reddish lines ; vent white ; legs feathered to the toes, which 

 are covered with hairs. 



Inhabits the woods about Hudson's Bay; makes the nest on dry, 

 mossy ground, and lays from five to ten white eggs;* the young 

 hatched in May ; called by the natives Wapacuthu, being by them 

 confounded with the Snowy species ; but Mr. Hutchins assured me, 

 tliat these two are distinct from each other. This is esteemed by the 

 Europeans very delicious food, 



* According to Mr, Hutchins; but if so, it differs from others of the genus. 



U o 2 



