having devoured it, immediately returned to play the same clever trick upon other victims. In the winter season this species often seeks its food during the night, and so much vigilance does it display in these nocturnal excursions, that no object seen in the air is allowed to pass without proper investigation as to its edible properties. Holboell mentions having amused himself one moonlight night by constantly throwing up his hat to attract the attention of a Snow Owl, and was rewarded by inducing it to follow the unfamiliar object for nearly a quarter of a mile. The cry of this bird is harsh, and much resembles that of the Crow. The breeding season commences in June; the eggs, from seven to ten in number, are of a dirty white, and are deposited in a hole in the ground lined with a little dry grass. The young are fledged by the month of August, and are tended till this period with great affection by both parents. The female, who is also carefully fed by her mate during the period of her seclusion, exhibits great affection for her little family, and should a man approach so near the nest as to excite her suspicion, will fall to the earth, and lie as though dead or lamed, in the hope of diverting the stranger's attention from the brood to herself. Attempts to rear this remarkable Owl have hitherto usually proved unsuccessful. * * * * * The STONE OWLS (_Athene_) are small birds, with moderate sized heads, short round wings, which do not extend beyond two-thirds of the long straight tail, long legs, powerfully armed toes, and short beaks; the latter are compressed, and the upper mandible terminates in a hook. The aperture of the ear is smaller, and the feathers which surround it longer than in other diurnal species; the plumage is compact, and only partially covers the legs, the toes being overspread with a hair-like growth. THE STONE OWL PROPER. The STONE OWL PROPER (_Athene noctua_) is about eight inches long, and twenty broad; its wing measures five inches and a half, and the tail three and three-quarters. The female is slightly larger than her mate. In the adult of both sexes the upper part of the body is dark mouse grey, irregularly spotted with white; the face is greyish white, the belly whitish, spotted with brown, except at the vent; the wing and tail-feathers are reddish yellow, spotted with white; the beak is greyish yellow, the foot yellowish grey, and the eye of a brimstone yellow. The plumage of the young is darker than that of their parents. [Illustration: THE SNOW OWL (_Nyctea nivea_).]