Ah, the snowy owl. What a magnificent creature. Watch as it gracefully flies over the arctic snow on this calm Saturday afternoon. Snowy Owls what ? The Snowy Owl, or Bubo scandiacus, is one of the biggest owls and even rivals the infamous Great Horned Owl. Being in the genus Bubo, it is considered closely related to horned owls and eagle-owls. Adapted to its snowy Arctic habitat, the snowy owl rocks white plumage with brown markings and enjoys feeding on small animals like lemmings. These arctic habitats mentioned are tundras. Although being an owl, it isn’t like the rest of them.
Genus Origin
Although it may now be under the genus Bubo, it wasn’t always like that. The Snowy Owl was considered to be under the monotypic genus Nyctea (one species in the family). It was then removed from Nyctea and considered Bubo after DNA tests showed similarities between the Snowy Owl and eagle owls. Although changed, some people still refer to the Snowy Owl as Nyctea scandiaca.
Plumage
Snowy Owls are mostly identifiable through their distinct white plumage. Snowy owl hatchlings typically have white downy plumage with many brown markings which they lose through molting as they grow older. Male owls’ feathers start turning whiter as they get older, and can become entirely white. The females, however, keep many brown markings on them throughout their life, never being able to achieve the full white color. If you were to weigh them, you would also notice that they are pretty heavy, at least when compared to other owls. They weigh a lot because of the number of feathers that they have, used to protect themselves from the cold of their Arctic home.
Hunting
Being diurnal, active in the day, Snowy Owls generally hunt animals that are active in the day as well. The Snowy Owl’s main hunting method is to wait patiently and to fly or run towards its prey once they identify their location with sight or sound. If a small mammal, they’ll most likely attempt to swallow it in one gulp. If it’s a bigger animal like a hare, they will most likely get a grip with their sharp talons and attack it with its strong beak, most likely attempting to snap its neck. If a snowy owl is not taking the food for itself, and it’s for its young or mate, it can carry food with its beak or talons.
Food
The Snowy Owl mostly eats small mammals, preferring lemmings (which they can eat 3-5 of per day). If there aren’t enough lemmings, then the Snowy Owls will be open to hunting other small mammals, going up to large hares, but they may also eat other birds, like ducks, or fish. The availability of each type of food would depend on the location they’re in. The availability of food has significant effects on a Snowy Owl’s life. One of the things that it can affect is their clutch size, the number of eggs they lay, which would range from 3-11 eggs depending on food availability. The amount of food, as usual, causes a change in the migration patterns of the Snowy Owls.
Migration
Snowy Owls have usual migration patterns, but sometimes they have giant waves of them. These giant waves of migration, called irruptions, happen mostly randomly and are when large groups of Snowy Owls travel south. Consisting of mainly fledglings, the eruptions occur because of an increased food supply. The food supply is the cause because of the increased clutch size that it causes, meaning that there would be too many owls, hence the irruption. These inflections are said to be beautiful, but it brings about a lot of Snowy Owl death from interactions with humans or human-made objects.
Mating
Snowy Owls’ mating season is from April up until May. Courtship behavior is shown first by the male. It puts on an aerial flight, typically holding a lemming in its mouth. It may also put on a show on the ground in an attempt to attract females. Snowy Owls are mostly monogamous, meaning they’ll have only one mate.
THEM OWLS
By: Juan Lopez