THE SNOWY OWL. 



Nyctea scandiaca (Linnaeus). 

 Plate 27. 



This fine species is a circumpolar bird, breeding among the Arctic wastes of 

 both hemispheres, and leaving its more northerly quarters in the winter to 

 escape the rigours of the climate and consequent want of food. 



About twenty examples have been taken in England, and more than that 

 number in Ireland, while in the north of Scotland, especially in the Orkneys, 

 Shetlands, and Outer Hebrides, it may be considered an annual visitor. 



It breeds on the open fjelds and tundras away from forest growth, the nest being 

 often a mere depression in the moss-covered ground, though sometimes, according 

 to Seebohm, made of "a few lichens, mosses, and feathers." It contains from 

 six to eight or even more creamy-white eggs, the incubation period being just 

 five weeks. 



The Snowy Owl feeds chiefly on the lemming and other small mammals, but 

 does not, however, confine its diet to these, preying also on Ptarmigan, Willow- 

 Grouse, and Arctic hares, and hunting by day as well as by night. Mr. Millais 

 says : " In Iceland the Snowy Owl preys largely on fish. I have seen them 

 catching quite large char." 



During the breeding season the male is very bold and fierce, and will attack 

 anyone approaching the nest. The cry is loud and harsh. Both sexes show 

 a great variety in the markings of their plumage, but the females are more 

 strongly barred with dark than the males. The latter are sometimes almost 

 entirely white, showing only a few brownish-black spots on their snowy feathers. 



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