About 
Foreign Birds. 
(12) THE BIRD WORLD. 
priate if the proposal were to emanate 
there. 
Another fresh field for avicuhurists 
is the hybridising of Foreign birds. 
The Hybrids between British birds are 
now so common as scarcely to be worth 
the trouble of trying for, but Foreign 
Hybrids are so rare, and the possibilities 
and material so exhaustive, that it would 
be well worth while devoting more 
attention to it. 
Now committees should remember 
that the outside public like to see bright- 
coloured Foreigners better than British 
birds, or Canaries, and if they have a 
better display of colours and a bigger 
variety of -birds on view at their shows, 
they will secure more of the public’s 
patronage, and get a bigger gate, thereby 
benefiting themselves and the chance of 
adding fanciers to the ranks. All 
should endeavour to support societies 
which seek to develop this branch of the 
fancy. Those who are already Foreign 
bird fanciers should not grudge to help 
a new beginner; and if, by this time 
next year, there be found even one who 
looks back to this article as the in¬ 
centive to commence keeping Foreign 
birds, then any little trouDie I have been 
at will not have been in vain. 
Photo ] Polly. [Ch. Rebmann. 
The Snowy Owl. 
This magnificent Owl, which has been 
hitherto very abundant in Scandinavia, 
is, it is to be feared, likely in the near 
future to become a much scarcer species. 
Norwegian landowners are, like the 
Highland proprietors of eighty years 
ago, just beginning to discover that the 
shooting value of their wild acres can be 
much increased by the destruction of 
raptorial birds. The fiat has gone forth, 
and Eagles, Peregrines, Goshawks and 
other falconidae, as well as Eagle Owls, 
Snowy Owls, Crows, and Ravens are in 
future to be much more severely dealt 
with than of old. It is commonly said 
in Norway that a Snowy Owl devours 
during each day in winter a Ryper 
(Willow-Grouse) or a hare, and the pre¬ 
servers of Ryper shooting are now en¬ 
gaged in thinning off these and other 
raptorial birds as rapidly as possible. 
On a single shooting, two years since, 
there were slain no less than fifty-one of 
these grand Owls. At this rate the bird 
is bound to become a rare species within 
the next score of years. When lemmings 
are plentiful, Snowy Owls prey largely 
on these rodents; but it must be admitted 
that at other times this Owl is not par¬ 
ticular as to its food supply, and will 
dine as readily off a Willow-Grouse or 
a hare as any less valuable creature. 
The destruction of these birds in North 
Europe will in time probably have the 
effect of making them a much scarcer 
British species. In England the Snowy 
Owl has always been a very rare winter 
wanderer, its chance visits having been 
most abundant in Norfolk, where it has 
been reported on about ten occasions. 
In Scotland it occurs somewhat more 
frequently, and in the Shetlands and 
Orkneys it may be looked upon as almost 
an annual migrant. The Snowy wwl 
preys in daytime, as well as at night, and 
is bold enough to capture and carry off 
wounded game-birds from under the very 
eyes of the sportsman. If the new era 
of extermination extends to Russia as 
well as Scandinavia, this noble Owl will 
be presently in a sad case. 
