ON THE OKNITHOLOGY OF LAPLAND, 257 



Sw. ; " ku ku," "skuolfe," Lap.). — Owing, perhaps, 

 to the lemming migrations, which appear to draw 

 all the birds of prey in the north into one focus, 

 the snowy owl has not been rare on the Quickiock 

 fells during the last three seasons; and in 1861 

 three nests, all containing young birds, were 

 destroyed by the Laps within sixty miles of 

 Quickiock. In no single instance were the old 

 birds killed ; but they did not come back to breed 

 in the same localities in 1862, for we carefully 

 examined every old nest. However, in the 

 beginning of June, I sent two Laps off to the 

 great lake Wihrigaur. The road was bad, and 

 the snow lay deep on the fells ; but they returned 

 within the week, bringing with them a nest and 

 six eggs of the snowy owl, as well as the old 

 female, which they had shot. I was much pleased 

 to see the marked difference between this egg and 

 the egg of any other of the large European owls. 

 It is more elongated and not so round or large as 

 the egg of the eagle owl (but of course perfectly 

 white); and it is larger than that of the Lap owl 

 (Strix La/pponica). The egg of the snowy owl 

 measures just the same in length as that of the 

 eagle owl (2- inches); its breadth is If inches, 

 that of the eagle owl being 2 inches full. The 

 nest was nothing more than a large boll of rein- 

 deer moss, placed on the ledge of a bare fell. 



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