Snowy Owl
Last Review/Updated: May 31, 2002
Nyctea scandiaca
The snowy owl is easily identified by its white plumage, round earless head and broad white wings. It is about 60 cm (24 in.) long. Color ranges from pure white to white barred with varying amounts of brown to black. Juveniles and females are usually more heavily barred than adult males. Snowy owls migrate from the Arctic to Alberta and the other provinces in winter and return to the Arctic in summer. In the Arctic they prefer rolling hills to flat tundra, and use banks, knolls and boulders for lookouts. On their migration south they can often be found perched on fence posts, haystacks and buildings overlooking marshes and open farmland. During the winters, snowy owls are distributed throughout Alberta east of the Rockies.
Five to 8 eggs are laid in thinly lined depressions on the ground, preferably on the higher areas of the tundra.
The snowy owl is active during the day. In the southern regions of its range, rabbits, hares and small rodents form the majority of its diet. Lemmings, ptarmigan and hares are its major food in the Arctic. The numbers of snowy owls are largely dependent upon the rise and fall of the lemming population.
