Snowy Owl Facts
Discover answers to the most popular questions about snowy owls, including classification, identification, habitat and range, hunting and diet, behavior, and conservation status.
Classification
How Are Snowy Owls Classified?
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Strigiformes
Family: Strigidae
Genus: Nyctea
Species: Nyctea scandiaca
Identification
What Does a Snowy Owl Look Like?
Perfect camouflage for its Arctic surroundings, snowy owls are pristine white with varying amounts of black and brown markings. The snowy owl is the only owl species in which the males and the females are easily distinguishable. The females have more markings than the almost white males, which tend to become whiter with age. Unlike other owls, the legs and feet are covered in white feathers for warmth, making the bird look stockier than other owl species. [See image above]
How Big Is a Snowy Owl?
On average, the Snowy Owl measures between 20-28 inches and weighs 3.5-6.5 pounds, making it North America’s heaviest owl species. Its wingspan is 49-57 inches. [1]
[The heaviest owl species in the world is the Eurasian Eagle Owl, weighing upwards of 9.25 pounds!] [2]
Habitat and Range
Where Do Snowy Owls Make Their Home?
The Snowy Owl prefers treeless, wide-open spaces, making the Arctic tundra the perfect habitat. It will choose a spot on the tundra that is slightly elevated and will build its nest right on the ground by scratching away at the surface to create a shallow hollow. [3]
In those years when it migrates south, it will choose open spaces such as grassy plains or vast expanses of frozen water. It has also been sighted in railroad yards and airports. [4]
Are Snowy Owls Only Found in the United States?
Most snowy owls live in the Arctic, including Greenland, Scandinavia, Russia, and Canada, and regions north of Alaska’s Brooks Range, an extension of the Rocky Mountains that stretches west to east across northern Alaska and into Canada’s Yukon Territory. They will venture further south into Canada and the northern United States when food is scarce. [5]
Hunting and Diet
What Do Snowy Owls Eat?
Like all birds of prey, the Snowy Owl feeds mainly on small mammals, and the lemming is the meal of choice. It will supplement its diet with rodents, rabbits, and fish when unavailable. Being one of the most agile owls, it can also catch smaller birds on the fly. [6]
How Do Snowy Owls Catch Their Prey?
The snowy owl hunts in various ways, but patiently perching is one of its favorite methods. It will sit perched in complete stillness, waiting for prey to appear. It will perch anywhere with a good view, frequently right on the ground. John James Audubon recorded a sighting of a snowy owl lying completely prone on the ground, head and all as if it were sleeping, waiting patiently beside an ice hole. The instant a fish came close to the surface, the owl thrust out his foot, grabbed it with its talon, and pulled it out of the water. [7]
Like all owls, it has keen eyesight and vision. When it detects prey, it will glide low to the ground in pursuit. Its silent flight makes it inconspicuous to the prey, allowing it to snatch up its prey quickly with its strong talons. In the case of a larger animal, such as a rabbit, the owl will swoop down and grab the animal’s back with one talon while dragging the other talon into the snow. It will then fly backward until it has exhausted the animal’s energy. [8]
Do Snowy Owls Have Predators?
At the top of the food chain, snowy owls have few predators. Both males and females defend the nest vehemently against would-be predators, ranging from arctic foxes and wolves to other birds.
Snowy owls are fierce fighters and have been known to defend their nest adamantly against would-be predators digging sharp talons into anything that dares approach. If a would-be predator is not deterred, this crafty creature will feign injury by dragging its wing on the ground, luring the attacker away from the nest. Once far enough away, it will fly back. [9]
Snowy owls are such good defenders that other birds take advantage of this fact and nest nearby for protection. A 1993 study of snow geese demonstrated the impact of nesting near a Snowy Owl and its effects on arctic fox predation. The researchers discovered 236 geese nests situated within 1.6 sq. miles of a single Snowy Owl nest. (Some as close as 27.3 yards) The researchers noted that nesting success was 90% for that year. In contrast, the Snowy Owl was not present the following year, and the nesting success rate dropped to 23%. [10]
Behavior
Are Snowy Owls Nocturnal?
Snowy owls are primarily diurnal, meaning they are active during the day. This is unusual for owls, which are typically nocturnal.
Snowy owls have adapted to life in the Arctic, where during summer months, the sun can shine for 24 hours a day. As a result, they hunt both during the day and at night when necessary. However, they are most commonly observed hunting in daylight, as demonstrated by Boxall and Lein’s 1989 field study on wintering snowy owls in southern Alberta, which found clear diurnal peaks where owls were most active in the early morning and late afternoon. [11]
Do Snowy Owls Migrate?
Snowy Owls are not annual migratory birds, though a few will fly south to regions of Canada and the northern United States. Although inconsistent, massive migration, known as an ‘irruption,’ occurs when food supplies are scarce. [12] In 2011, for example, several US Fish and Wildlife Service Bulletins reported sightings of the owl in Washington, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Maine, Vermont, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and as far south as Missouri and Kansas. [13]
During these snowy owl invasions into the United States, the birds arrive in mid-November and depart for home in mid-March. [14]
Conservation Status
Are Snowy Owls Endangered?
The snowy owl is not currently classified as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act; however, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has upgraded the snowy owl to Vulnerable due to population declines, climate change, habitat changes, and human impacts. [15]
References
- [1] Cornell University Lab of Ornithology – “Snowy Owls.”
- [2] University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web – “Eurasian Eagle Owl.”
- [3][6] Cornell University Lab of Ornithology – “Snowy Owl Life History.”
- [4] University of Minnesota – College of Veterinarian Medicine – The Rapture Center – “Snowy Owl.”
- [5] Cornell University Lab of Ornithology – “Distribution – Snowy Owl.”
- [7] Audubon, John James. The Birds of North America, Volume 1. New York, J.J.Audubon, 1840. Print.
- [8] Smithsonian Museum of Natural History Arctic Studies Center – “Snowy Owl.”
- [9] Toronto Zoo – “Snowy Owl.”
- [10] Tremblay, J., “Factors Affecting Nesting Success in Greater Snow Geese: Effects of Habitat and Association with Snowy Owls.” The Wilson Bulletin. vol.109; no.1, 1997, pp. 449-461
- [11] Boxall, Peter C., and M. Ross Lein. “Time Budgets and Activity of Wintering Snowy Owls.” Journal of Field Ornithology, vol.60. no.1, Mar. 1989, pp. 20-29
- [12] US Fish & Wildlife Service – “The Snowy Owl Whoooo Flew to Los Angeles.”
- [13] US Fish & Wildlife Service – “Snowy Owls Migrating South.”
- [14] Heintzelman, Donald S. Hawks and Owls of Eastern North America. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2004. Print.
- [15] International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List “Bubo scandiacus (Snowy Owl).”