136 SNOWY OWL.
fully an inch deep at its junction with the fourchette, which is wide.
The heart and liver are large; the oesophagus is extremely wide, enabling
the bird to swallow very large portions of its food at once. The skin
may be drawn over the head without any difficulty, and from the body
with ease. The male weighs 4 lb, the female 4£ lb. avoirdupois.
The observations which I have made induce me to believe that the
pure and rich light-yellowish whiteness of this species belongs to both
sexes after a certain age. I have shot specimens which were, as I thought,
so young as to be nearly of a uniform light-brown tint, and which puzzled
me for several years, as I had at first conceived them to be of a different
species. This, indeed, led me to think that, when young, these birds are
brown. Others were more or less marked with broad transverse lines of
deep brown or black; but I have seen specimens of both sexes perfectly
free from spots, excepting on the occiput, where I have never missed
them.
Some twenty years passed; and, during that time, scarcely was there
a winter which did not bring several of these hardy natives of the north
to the Falls of the Ohio at Louisville. At the break of day, one morning,
when I lay hidden in a pile of floated logs, at the Falls of the Ohio,
waiting for a shot at some wild geese, I had an opportunity of seeing this
Owl secure fish in the following manner:—While watching for their
prey on the borders of the " pots,1' they invariably lay flat on the rock,
with the body placed lengthwise along the border of the hole, the head also
laid down, but turned towards the water. One might have supposed the
bird sound asleep, as it would remain in the same position until a good
opportunity of securing a fish occurred, which I believe was never missed ;
for, as the latter unwittingly rose to the surface, near the edge, that instant
the Owl thrust out the foot next the water, and, with the quickness of
lightning, seized it, and drew it out. The Owl then removed to the distance
of a few yards, devoured its prey, and returned to the same hole; or,
if it had not perceived any more fish, flew only a few yards over the many
pots there, marked a likely one, and alighted at a little distance from it. It
then squatted, moved slowly towards the edge, and lay as before watching
for an opportunity. Whenever a fish of any size was hooked, as I
may say, the Owl struck the other foot also into it, and flew off with it
to a considerable distance. In two instances of this kind, I saw the bird
carry its prey across the Western or Indiana Shute, into the woods, as if
to be quite out of harm's nay. I never heard it utter a single note on
SNOWY OWL. 137
such occasions, even when two birds joined in the repast, which was frequently
the case, when the fish that had been caught was of a large size.
At sun-rise, or shortly after, the Owls flew to the woods, and I did not
see them until the next morning, when, after witnessing the same feats, I
watched an opportunity, and killed both at one shot.
An old hunter, now residing in Maine, told me that one winter he lost
so many musk-rats by the owls, that he resolved to destroy them. To
effect this, without loss of ammunition, a great object to him, he placed
musk-rats caught in the traps usually employed for the purpose, in a prominent
spot, and in the centre of a larger trap. He said he seldom failed,
and in this manner considerably " thinned the thieves," before the season
was over. He found, however, more of the Great Grey Owl, Striae, cinerea,
than of the Snowy Owl. The latter he thought was much more cunning
than the former.
In the course of a winter spent at Boston, I had some superb specimens
of the Snowy Owl brought to me, one of which, a male, was alive,
having only been touched in the wing. He stood upright, keeping his
feathers close, but would not suffer me to approach him. His fine eyes
watched every movement I made, and if I pretended to walk round him,
the instant his head had turned as far as he could still see me, he would
open his wings, and with large hops get to a corner of the room, when he
would turn towards me, and again watch my approach. This bird had been
procured on one of the sea-islands off Boston, by a gunner in my employ,
who, after following it from one rock to another, with difficulty wounded
it. In the course of the same winter, I saw one sailing high over the bay
along with a number of gulls, which appeared to dislike his company, and
chased it at a respectful distance, the owl seeming to pay no regard to
them.
Several individuals have been procured near Charleston, in South
Carolina, one on James'' Island, another, now in the Charleston Museum,
on Clarkson's plantation. A fine one was shot at Columbia, the seat of
government for the State of that name, from the chimney of one of the
largest houses in that town, and was beautifully preserved by Professor
Gibbes of the Columbia College. I once met with one while walking
with a friend near Louisville in Kentucky, in the middle of the day. It
was perched on a broken stump of a tree in the centre of a large field ;
and, on seeing us, flew off, sailed round the field, and alighted again on
the same spot. It evinced much impatience and apprehension, opening