STRIGID.E. 



91 



any brown spot. These white individuals are, in Wilson's opinion, always males ; 

 but, judging- from the size of some white specimens I have seen, I should think 

 he is mistaken. 



A specimen from Hudson's Bay, preserved in the British Museum, is entirely 

 white, with the exception of a brown spot near the tip of the first quill feather and 

 two on the second feather. The length of the specimen is twenty-six inches. 



Another specimen, killed on the eastern declivity of the Rocky Mountains, and 

 from its size supposed to be a female, has the plumage on the dorsal aspect more 

 generally spotted and barred, and also many bars on the long feathers that cover 

 each side of the abdomen. The throat, vent feathers, under tail coverts, and 

 linings of the wings, are, however, pure white. In this, the second and fourth 

 quill feathers are equal to each other and two lines shorter than the third ; 

 the first and fifth are also equal to each other, and about an inch and a half 

 shorter than the third. 



Dimensions 

 Of a Rocky Mountain specimen. 



Length from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail 

 „ of the tail ...... 



„ of the longest quill feather 



Inches. Lines. 



. 29 



10 



. 16 C 



1. Ear of the Snowy Owl. 2. Bill, partly divested of the frontal feathers, to show the nostrils. 



3. Profile of the head. 



N 2 



