Snowy owl

흰올빼미

A white owl of the Arctic tundra that, unlike most owls, also hunts by day. Its main food is lemmings, several a day in good years, and its white feathers and yellow eyes blend with the snowy ground.

See it on the 3D globe →

At a glance

Class: Birds
Lives in: Tundra, Nunavut, Canada
Diet: Meat eater (carnivore)
Weight: about 2 kg
Length: about 0.6 m
Lifespan: up to about 28 years
Conservation status: Vulnerable (IUCN VU)
Habitat: polar regions, grasslands

Quick answers

Where does the Snowy owl live?

It lives in polar regions, grasslands. On the globe you can find it near Tundra, Nunavut, Canada.

How big is the Snowy owl?

It grows to about 0.6 m and 2 kg.

What does the Snowy owl eat?

Its diet: meat eater (carnivore).

How long does the Snowy owl live?

It can live up to about 28 years.

Is the Snowy owl endangered?

It is listed as Vulnerable (IUCN VU).

The snowy owl is a large white owl of the Arctic tundra of North America and Eurasia. It is one of the biggest owls and the only one with mostly white feathers. Males tend to be purer white, while females and young birds have more dark brown flecks. It has bright yellow eyes and a black bill.

It is 52 to 71 centimetres long and weighs 1.6 to 3 kilograms, with a wingspan of 125 to 150 centimetres. The IUCN lists it as vulnerable, and recent data suggest there are fewer than 100,000 owls worldwide, down from earlier estimates of over 200,000.

An owl that hunts in daylight

Most owls sleep by day and hunt at night, but the snowy owl is often active in daylight, especially in summer. Its breeding depends on lemmings, small rodents of the tundra, though in other seasons it eats nearly any small mammal or northern water bird and sometimes dead animals. It nests on a small rise on the ground.

Nomads of the north

Snowy owls lay many eggs, often 5 to 11, laid and hatched at different times. The chicks take a long time to grow and become independent in autumn. The owls are nomads that rarely breed in the same place or with the same mate each year, and they skip breeding if prey is scarce. They sometimes appear far south in large numbers. In Korea a few have been recorded, such as one found in Gimpo in 1984.

Fun facts

Unlike most owls, the snowy owl often hunts in daylight, especially during the round-the-clock daylight of the Arctic summer.
It is the only owl with mainly white feathers.
It often hunts during the day.
Females have more dark flecks than males.
Wild owls live about 10 years on average.