What do you think of this bird with his round, puffy head? You of
course know it is an Owl. I want you to know him as the Snowy Owl.
Don't you think his face is some like that of your cat? This fellow is
not full grown, but only a child. If he were full grown he would be
pure white. The dark color you see is only the tips of the feathers.
You can't see his beak very well for the soft feathers almost cover
it.
His large soft eyes look very pretty out of the white feathers. What
color would you call them? Most owls are quiet during the day and very
busy all night. The Snowy Owl is not so quiet day times. He flies
about considerably and gets most of his food in daylight.
A hunter who was resting under a tree, on the bank of a river, tells
this of him:
"A Snowy Owl was perched on the branch of a dead tree that had fallen
into the river. He sat there looking into the water and blinking his
large eyes.
Suddenly he reached out and before I could see how he did it, a fish
was in his claws."
This certainly shows that he can see well in the day time. He can see
best, however, in the twilight, in cloudy weather or moonlight. That
is the way with your cat.
The wing feathers of the owl are different from those of most birds.
They are as soft as down. This is why you cannot hear him when he
flies. Owls while perching are almost always found in quiet places
where they will not be disturbed.
Did you ever hear the voice of an owl in the night? If you never have,
you cannot imagine how dreary it sounds. He surely is "The Bird of the
Night."
[Illustration: From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences. SNOWY OWL.]