![]() Why they need our helpīecause of where the Snowy Owl lives, it does not come into contact with humans as often as many other raptors do. Thank you to for sharing this Snowy Owl video with us! Visit their website for more great information on birds. Owls can detect a vole's exact location, pounce down and grab it out of the snow without ever once laying eyes on it! The little rodent never sees it coming. When this is the case, many small mammals move around by tunneling their way beneath the snow unseen. The Snowy Owls use their sharp hearing to pinpoint exactly where prey is moving. Though they use their keen eyesight to find tasty morsels of food, they live in areas where the ground is often covered in snow. Many owls use their exceptional hearing to help them locate prey and Snowy Owls are no different. Since Snowy Owls often fly low over the ground when hunting, it is important that their prey doesn´t hear them coming! This helps them be very stealthy hunters. ![]() Like other owls, the ends of the Snowy Owls flight feathers are very soft and feathery, giving it the ability to fly in absolute silence because the air doesn't make noise as it passes through the soft feathers. Feathers, of course, also help birds fly. Because they live in high, cold regions, the feathers on their legs and feet are more densely layered than those of other owls living in warmer climates. Who would want to go out into the cold without something warm on their feet? One role of these owls´ feathers is to help keep them warm. ![]() Snowy Owls, like many owls, are covered from head to toe with feathers. While most owls are active mainly at night, the Snowy Owl hunts during the daytime, particularly in the summer when days are very long. Of course, when there is no snow, these owls are quite easy to spot against a green or brown background. This color combination also helps these owls to blend in with their snowy surroundings, providing them with extra "cover" when hunting in wide open terrain. Either way, this beautiful color combination makes this species unmistakable in the owl world. Adult females also retain some of the darker markings, while males have the least. Juveniles tend to have the most black on their feathers. Though you have to look very closely to see them, the Snowy Owl also has very small ear tufts, small feathers which stick up on both sides of its head. This owl has bright yellow eyes, a coal-black beak and snowy white feathers etched with a varying amount of black dots, lines and striations. In the Arctic, they live in tundra, but also inhabit grasslands and open fields. The Snowy Owl prefers to live in open areas with few trees. In fact, in 2011 a Snowy Owl made it all the way to Hawaii!! ![]() When an irruption occurs, Snowy Owls have been known to travel as far south as northern California, Texas, and Oklahoma. In this case, these owls will also have to travel further away to find food and avoid competing with other owls. If you have ever seen children scrimmaging for candy beneath a broken piñata, you know lots of individuals create lots of competition. If prey populations are very high, owls may have very successful breeding seasons and produce lots of young. This would force these owls to travel farther and further in search of food. It may happen when the populations of lemmings and voles – the Snowy Owl's main prey items – get very low. This phenomenon is called irruption and scientists believe there are two main reasons for one to occur. However, Snowy Owls have been known to travel surprisingly long distances far out of their normal range. In the non-breeding season, this species also can be found in areas of southern Canada and the northern United States, as well as parts of Asia and Europe. The aptly named Snowy Owl is mainly a circumpolar species, which means that individuals live and nest in the far north regions around the North Pole. We also supply literature to researchers from our avian research library, which helps scientists around the world gather and share important information on raptor conservation. The Peregrine Fund is not working directly with Snowy Owls, but our conservation efforts through habitat protection, education, and community outreach extend to all raptor species, including this beautiful owl. ![]()
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