11 1
NYCTEA NIVEA.
Snowy Owl.
Strix nyctea, Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 132.
nivea, Daud. Traite d’Orn., tom. ii. p. 190.
— Candida, Lath. Ind. Orn., Suppl. p. 14.
— wapacuthu, Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 291.
arctica, Bartr. Trav., p. 285.
Nyctea erminea, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. vii. p. 251.
cinerea, Steph. Cont. Shaw Gen. Zool., vol. xiii..p. 63.
Sumia nyctea, Edmonst. Mem. Wem. Soc., vol. iv. p. 157.-Thomps. Ann. Nat. Hist. vo l... p. 241.
Noctua nyctea, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 770.
Nyctea nivea, Brehm. Isis, 1834.
Candida, Swains. Class, of Birds, vol. ii. p. 217.
T h e Snowy Owl belongs to a great group of birds, so universally dispersed that I believe no portion of the
world is destitute of one or other of its members. This universal distribution of the Strigidm, some o f which
are nocturnal, while others are diurnal, is no less interesting than are the diversities of structure observable
among them : some are adapted for the capture of living prey of large size, others for seizing the smaller
quadrupeds and birds, and others again for insects and their larval. Thus the huge Athenes of Australia destroy
the Koalas, the Phalangers, the smaller Kangaroos, Perameles, and other less important Marsupials; the
Huhrn mpalemis of India is said by Mr. Jerdon to prey on hares, cats, rats, and fish ; and in Africa we fine
the Scotopelia Pelt, whose great size and extraordinarily developed talons, we may be assured, are adaptei
either for a similar purpose or, perhaps, for the destruction of the Colobi and other Monkeys of that country
In the northern regions o f the Old World, we have the two powerful species o f the genus Bobo. Of the natura
food o f these G reat Owls we know but little, except that they are said to feed on fawns, hares, rats, and small
quadrupeds, and birds o f many kinds, particularly Ptarmigan and Grouse. The members o f the restricted
genus B are more universally dispersed than those of any other form of the entire family, and feed almost
exclusively on mice and other small Rodents. The diurnal Owls, forming the genus Noctua, prey upon birds
and insects; and it is probable that the numerous minute species found 111 South America are mortal enemies
to the Troehilidm, in confirmation of which I may mention th at these little birds show their aversion
to the Owls, by attacking them with the utmost fury whenever they come in contact with them. l o
generalize further on the Strigidm as a whole would be out of place; and I have merely made these few
remarks on their distribution and varied habits for those o f my readers who are not professed ornithologists,
and to state that the Snowy Owl is a denizen of the iee-bonnd regions o f northern Europe, Siberia, Iceland,
Greenland, Labrador, and the country north of Davis’s and Barrow’s Straits between America and the
unknown land I it also tenants the icebergs which become separated from the mainland and float towards
warmer regions: the Snowy Owl finds a plentiful supply of food in the numerous birds which settle on
these floating masses; here, in company with Polar Bears, with which it shares the seal and the wa rns it
spends much o f its time ; and its whole structure, colouring, and thick plumage are wonderfiilly adapted for
such a mode o f life. Cold has no effect upon i t ; on the contrary, it is what it covets During the
breeding-season it proceeds further south, and seeks the milderconntr.es of Norway, Finland, Russia,
and the fhr-eountries o f America. On the bleak moorland, where none other but the Lapp or the Esquimaux
sets his foot, the Snowy Owl performs the duty of reproduction, its nest being placed on the ground,
and its numerous progeny reared among Hares, Lemmings, Ptarmigans, &c., which afford them an
abundauce o f nutriment. I 0 , 0
Dr Falconer has called my attention to a passage in Wrangel’s [ Expedition to the Polar Sea: aw a
flight of geese going N.N.W., and a White Owl (_Stri.v nyctea-), on the 1st of May, 150 iverst, e 100 miles
beyond the Paranon R o c k la n d north of the coast-line o f Arctic Siberia.” . . . . At page cxxm, he says tha
.. t,,e Owl is a carnivorous bird, and follows the White Bear to feed on the remains of his prey, meaning
th at lie follows the Bear out upon the ice away from the land.
In the British Islands, therefore, my readers will be prepared to learn that it is only a chance visitor ; still
its visits are by no means unfreqnent, as the following notices of its occurrence (which I give on the authority
of their authors) will testify. . 1Q 10 , r Rllnn.i.
As a British species,” says Macgillivray, | the Snowy Owl was first described in 1812 by Mr. Bullock,
With it in the course o f a tour through Orkney and Shetland; but it had previously been found by