1.The snowy owl lives in cold northern countries like Norway,Sweden,Russia,and the north of America.
It is sometimes seen in the Orkney and Shetland Islands.
2.The young bird is thickly spotted with brown,but as time goes on the brown colour disappears,and it becomes pure white,like most animals that live in the snowy North.Hares,foxes,and bears in those lands have white fur,while those that live farther south are brown or some other dark colour.
3.All these animals are well fitted for living among snow and ice.White is the warmest colour,and this helps them to stand the great cold of the "frozen North."White,too,is the colour of the snow;so a white covering helps the smaller animals to escape the notice of their enemies,while it helps the larger ones to get near their prey without being seen.
4.The snowy owl of the North is a bold fellow,and hunts by day as well as by night-looking for hares and rabbits,catching fish,and killing great numbers of small birds as well as of rats and mice.
5.It is very amusing to see him fishing-standing on a rock or a piece of ice,with the freezing water flowing over his feet and legs.Every now and then he makes a stroke at a fish as it passes him,and he seldom misses his aim.He does not seize his prey with his beak,as sea-birds do when fishing,but with a swift grasp of his claw.
6.Yet his feet do not freeze,as you might think,for they are well protected.They are not bare like those of other birds,but are covered down to the very toes with warm downy feathers,so thick that they make his legs look as large as those of a good-sized dog.
7.The eyes of the snowy owl are also well fitted for life in the far North.Most owls have big round eyes,and can see in the dark as well as a cat;but in strong sunlight they are blinded by the glare,and can hardly see at all.They sleep during the day,and hunt after the sun has gone down.
8.When this owl is caught and put into a cage,he does not sit on his perch or hide away in the dark corners during the daytime,as other owls do.He often comes down to the ground,and remains near the front of his prison even in broad daylight;for he can see a swell in daylight as in the dusk .
9.You perhaps know that near the Poles the sun never sets for some weeks during summer,and that it never rises for the same length of time in winter.Now,if the snowy owl could not hunt in the day time,he would starve during these summer days of constant sunshine.During winter,again,he has to hunt in the dark.
10.His eyes are large and of a bright yellow colour.In the daytime they shine with a light like that of agem,and,surrounded by the snowy-white feathers,they give him a bold and fierce look;but at night they glow like living coals of fire.
11.One night a snowy owl settled on the riggin.of a ship to rest and sleep,and as he sat there unnoticed,a young sailor went aloft to do some work.The owl was wakened by the sailor,and as the large burning eyes suddenly opened close to the sailor's face,he turned and made his way down to the deck much faster than he had come up,declaring that he had seen a ghost.