• Snowy Owl

• 

  Snowy Owl facts and information:

  Type: Bird
  Diet: Carnivore
  Average lifespan in the wild: 9.5 years
  Size: Body, 20 to 28 in (52 to 71 cm); Wingspan, 4.2 to 4.8 ft (1.3 to 1.5 m)
  Weight: 3.5 to 6.5 lbs (1.6 to 3 kg)
  Group name: Solitary
  Did you know? Unlike most owls, which are nocturnal, snowy owls are diurnal—they hunt and are active both day and night.

• 

  What does a snowy owl look like?

  The snowy owl's beautiful white plumage helps to hide it in its Arctic habitat. Only the males are completely white. Chicks are dark and spotted, while the females are white with spots on their wings. Young owls, especially males, get whiter as they get older. Females are darker than males, with dusky spotting, and never become totally white. Some elderly males do become completely white, though many retain small flecks of dusky plumage.

• Snowy Owl video.
• 

  Where do snowy owl's live?

  These magnificent owls sometimes remain year-round in their northern breeding grounds, but they are frequent migrants to Canada, the northern United States, Europe, and Asia. Lemming availability may determine the extent of southern migration, when owls take up summer residence on open fields, marshes, and beaches.
• 

  What does a snowy owl eat?

  The snowy owl is a patient hunter that perches and waits to identify its prey before soaring off in pursuit. Snowy owls have keen eyesight and great hearing, which can help them find prey that is invisible under thick vegetation or snowcover. The owls deftly snatch their quarry with their sharp talons. A snowy owl's preferred meal is lemmings—many lemmings. An adult may eat more than 1,600 lemmings a year, or three to five every day. The birds supplement their diet with rabbits, rodents, birds, and fish.

• Snowy Owl images

  
•