True to its name, the snowy owl is well-suited for snowy conditions. Thick layers of white feathers on its body, legs, and feet provide warmth and camouflage against its snowy surroundings.
With all that insulation, snowy owls are the heaviest owls in North America. They weigh about 1.3-2.7 kg (3-6 lb.) and stand about 50-70 cm (20-28 in.) tall.
Snowy owls spend their summers on the tundra in the Arctic Circle. In the winter, some snowy owls migrate south into southern Canada, the United States, and parts of Europe and Asia.
They prefer wide-open spaces like fields, shorelines, and airports, and can often be found perched on the ground or on posts surveying the area for food.
Male snowy owls are whiter than females and get paler as they age. Female snowy owls have more dark bars in their plumage.
Both male and female snowy owls have piercing yellow eyes.
How Far Can Snowy Owls Turn Their Heads Around?
Snowy owls, like other owls, have very flexible necks. They have double the number of vertebrae in their necks than we do, which allows them to turn their heads as far as 270° around.
This means that if a snowy owl were facing forward, it could twist its head all the way around to face backwards. Then it could keep turning its head in that same direction past its spine!
That said, even though snowy owls could turn their heads that far, they typically don’t. Usually if they want to see further behind them, they stop turning once they reach their spine and then just twist their head around in the other direction.
In this way, owls can see 360° around without moving their bodies.
What Snowy Owls Eat
Snowy owls primarily eat lemmings, which are small rodents found in the northern hemisphere. When lemmings are abundant, a snowy owl may consume as many as 1,600 lemmings a year!
In addition to lemmings, snowy owls also hunt ptarmigan, rabbits, birds, and fish.
How Snowy Owls Hunt
Unlike most owls, snowy owls are diurnal (active during the day).
In the Arctic summer, the sun never goes below the horizon. This means there’s nonstop daylight for months, and snowy owls may hunt at any time.
Snowy owls can sit perched for hours waiting to spot prey. They use their superb telescopic vision and excellent hearing to locate an animal scurrying along the ground and even under the snow!
Then they swoop in and snatch up the animal in their talons. Their prey won’t hear them coming because snowy owls are silent when they fly. Their flight feathers have fringed edges which eliminates any flapping sounds when they beat their wings.
Snowy owls are also one of the more agile owls. Not only do they hunt animals on the ground, they can also catch small birds on the fly.
Snowy owls can also catch animals by foot. Sometimes they pounce on prey while walking on the ground. They have also been observed catching fish by an ice hole using their feet!
Snowy Owl Migration
Some snowy owls, but not all, migrate south during the winter months. They are often found in the northern plains, New York, and New England in winter.
But there are some years where many snowy owls not only travel south, they travel very far south–all the way to northern California, Texas, and Oklahoma.
Their migration behavior varies from year to year based on the abundance of lemmings. When there are a lot of lemmings during the breeding period, more snowy owls are born. And these young snowy owls travel far south to establish their own winter territories.
Reproduction
Snowy owls breed in late April-May in the Arctic.
When a male snowy owl is trying to attract a mate, he does a mating display. He flies up in the air with a lemming in his beak or talons, then descends slowly back to the ground with his wings in a V shape.
Then he drops the lemming in front of the female, lowers his head, raises his wings up, and fans his tail out.
Once snowy owls pair up, they mate for life. The female will choose a nest site within the male’s territory on a slightly elevated area free of snow.
She will dig out a shallow scrape in the ground to make a nest. Then she will lay three to eleven eggs.
Snowy owls lay more eggs when there are a lot of lemmings available. When lemmings are scarce, they may not lay any eggs at all. They need to ensure they can feed the owlets when they’re born.
The female will sit on the eggs until they hatch. She must guard the nest from gulls, foxes and wolves. The male will hunt and bring food back for her as she sits.
After about a month, the eggs hatch. The owlets have soft white down at first, but it is soon replaced with brown feathers.
After a month, the owlets leave the nest. But they aren’t great at flying until about eight weeks. Their parents will care for them for about four months, at which time, they are ready to live on their own.
Snowy owls live about ten years in the wild.
Conservation Status
Snowy owls are listed by the IUCN Red List as vulnerable, with their population decreasing.
Threats include climate change–which could lead to habitat loss and loss of prey; getting hit by cars and airplanes; and rodenticides.
What You Can Do to Help
If you see a snowy owl in the wild, give it space. Stay at least 45 m (150 ft.) away from it so you don’t disturb it.
Snowy Owl Range
More Snowy Owl Resources
- All About Birds: Snowy Owl
- Nat Geo Kids: Snowy Owl
- ABC Birds: Snowy Owl
- Peregrine Fund: Snowy Owl
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: Snowy Owls
- International Owl Center: How Far Can an Owl Turn Its Head?
Quick Fact Sheet
Common Name(s): Snowy Owl
Scientific Name: Bubo scandiaca
Animal Type: bird
Size: 50-70 cm (20-28 in.) tall; Wingspan: 1.2-1.5 m (4-5 ft.)
Weight: 1.3-2.7 kg (3-6 lb.)
Lifespan: 10 years
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
About the Author
Abi Cushman is a contributing editor of Animal Fact Guide and My House Rabbit. When she's not writing about weird animal facts, Abi writes and illustrates funny books for kids. Her picture books, Soaked! and Animals Go Vroom!, are available now from Viking Children's Books.
To learn more and to download free activity sheets, visit www.abicushman.com. Follow her on Instagram at @Abi.Cushman.
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