Snowy Owl

COMMON NAME: Snowy Owl:

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Bubo scandiaca

IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS:
A very large, white owl, the snowy owl can be as tall as a great horned owl and weighs more than any other North American owl. Its head is very round with no ear tufts, and its yellow eyes and black beak are very prominent. Adult males become almost pure white, while the females and immatures are speckled with black or brown.

RANGE:
The snowy owl's distribution is circumpolar. In the summer, it is found only in the arctic tundra. In the winter, this owl is considered a regular visitor to the Great Plains, with isolated individuals being found as far as Indiana. There are occasional "invasion" years in which large numbers of owls move south out of the tundra into the United States. These invasions are caused by a combination of "crashes" in the lemming population and weather. Snowy owls are considered a regular winter visitor to Minnesota.

HABITAT:
This owl prefers open spaces, be it tundra, grasslands, or frozen expanses of water. Its normal home is the treeless tundra, but in the winter it can be found hunting in harbor, railroad yards or cities.

NESTING:
The female lays her eggs on the ground. Dependent on the cyclic lemming for the majority of its food, snowy owls produce large clutches during years with abundant lemmings, and small clutches in lean years. The number of eggs the female lays seems to be stimulated by the amount of food the male is able to supply.

FEEDING HABITS:
Relying primarily on small rodents such as lemmings, this large owl is also capable of taking hares, and large birds such as ptarmigan as well.

RAPTOR CENTER DATA:
A few snowy owls are seen in the clinic every year, usually as a result of some human-induced injury.

CONSERVATION STATUS:
The snowy owl has no special status.

Other Web Resources:

Animated GIFs

• Owl eyes: shows a nictitating membrane, an owl's second eyelid
• Snowy owl head close-up

Teacher Lesson Plans

• "Radical Raptors"
  • See an owl in-flight silhouette

Snowy Owl Range
Minnesota Ornithologists' Union bird range map

Additional Information (not specifically about owls):
Publications