THE SNOWY OWL. 
31 
or Snowy Owl^ a species conspicuous from its size^ power^ 
and the light colour of its plumage. This species is occa- 
sionally met with in the Shetland Islands^ occurring not un- 
frequently in Unst^ one of the most northerly of them. In the 
northern parts of North America it is of frequent occurrence^ 
and is there famed for its daring disposition when hungry. 
Mr. Rae has seen one of these birds fix its claws in a lap-dog 
when only a few yards distant from its master^ nor would it 
let go its gripe till a gun was fired. That intrepid Arctic ex- 
plorer mentions in his Narrative^ an excellent method of 
shooting these birds^ and one that he has often successfully 
practised ; it " is to roll up a bit of fur or cloth about the 
shape and size of a mouse^ and drag it after you with a line 
twenty yards long. The owl will soon perceive the decoy, 
although half a mile distant; and after moving his head back- 
wards and forwards as if to make sure of his object, he takes 
wing, and making a short sweep in the rear of his intended 
prey, pounces upon and seizes it in his claws, affording the 
sportsman a fine opportunity of knocking him down/^ He 
goes on to tell us, that he has known as many as fifty of these 
birds to be killed in the early part of winter by one Indian. 
* Narrative of an Expedition to the Shores of the Arctic Sea in 1846 and 
1847, p. 26. 
