Snowy Owl, Strix nyctea, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. iv. p. 53. pl. 32. fig. 1.—Nuttall, Manual, vol. i. p. 116.
Adult Male. Plate CXXI. Fig. 1.
Bill short, compressed, curved, acute, with a small cere at the base; upper mandible with its dorsal outline curved from the base, the edges sharp, the point trigonal, very acute, deflected; lower mandible with the edges sharp and inflected, the tip obtuse. Nostrils roundish, in the fore part of the cere, concealed by the recumbent bristles. Head very large, although proportionally smaller than in most other owls, as are the eyes and external ears. Body short. Legs of ordinary length; tarsus feathered, as are the toes, on which, however, are two scutella; claws curved, slender, rounded, extremely sharp.
The plumage is soft but compact above, blended beneath, and in general remarkable for its bulk and elasticity. The feet are thickly clothed with long shaggy feathers, and the eyes are surrounded by circles of bristly feathers with disunited barbs. Wings ample, the third quill longest; the secondaries very broad and rounded. Tail of moderate length, slightly rounded, of twelve very broad rounded feathers.
Bill and claws black. Iris bright yellow. The general colour of the plumage is white, the face, forehead, nape, fore neck, anterior part of the breast, abdomen, and rump, with the upper and lower tail-coverts, unspotted; the upper part of the head and the back marked with lunated umber brown spots, and the breast, sides, and thigh-coverts, with transverse curved lines of the same. Wing-coverts, wings, and tail, barred with transverse oblong dark-brown spots.
Length 21 inches, extent of wings 53; bill along the ridge 1 8⁄12, along the edge 2; tarsus 1 6⁄12, middle toe with the claw 2½.
Adult Female. Plate CXXI. Fig. 2.
The female is similar in external appearance, but much larger.
Length 26 inches, extent of wings 65.
Individuals of either sex vary according to age, the spots gradually disappearing the older the birds become, so that not unfrequently specimens of a uniform white may be found.