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 Owls
Snowy Owl
Nyctea scandiaca
Description24" (61 cm). W. 4' 7" (1.4 m). A big,
round-headed owl, ranging in color from pure white to white with
dark spotting or barring. Female is larger and more heavily marked
than male.
VoiceUsually silent; hoarse croak and shrill
whistle on breeding grounds.
HabitatOpen country: tundra, dunes, marshes,
fields, plains, and airports in winter.
Nesting5-8 white eggs with a lining of feathers,
mosses, and lichens placed on open tundra.
RangeBreeds in northern Alaska and in
northernmost Canada. Winters south throughout Canada into northern
United States, irregularly farther. Also in Eurasia.
Discussion This great white owl is a beautiful
sight as it perches upright on a fence post or flies over a marsh.
Strictly a bird of open country, it is practically never seen in a
tree; it sits on the ground, a rooftop, or other exposed resting
place. In the Far North where it breeds, it depends largely on
lemmings for food. The size of the lemming population periodically
changes (due to population explosions and subsequent epidemics), and
when lemming numbers decrease the owls must migrate southward to
avoid starvation. In southern latitudes, the owls prey on rabbits,
waterfowl, and other game, or on dead fish on ocean beaches. They
prey on Norway rats in large refuse dumps.
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