--- title: "Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "A powerful owl of the Arctic tundra that often hunts by day, colored for winter camouflage and able to take birds as big as geese." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/snowy-owl-1.webp" published: "2026-08-31" updated: "2026-09-28" --- # Snowy Owl (*Bubo scandiacus*) > **Status**: Checked against 6 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: A powerful owl of the Arctic tundra that often hunts by day, colored for winter camouflage and able to take birds as big as geese. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Dream Pop & Shoegaze // Slowdive, "When the Sun Hits" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/0oxYB9GoOIDrdzniNdKC44) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKYY0IlTMw4) > **Vibe Match**: Hazy guitars that hang back and then break, for an owl that often hunts by day: it usually watches for prey from a perch, then swoops down in a "wallop" to snatch it with strong talons. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Bubo scandiacus* - **Danger Level**: Medium - **Conservation Status**: Vulnerable ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2021-3.rlts.t22689055a205475036.en)) - **Superpower**: Usually watches for prey from a perch, then swoops down in a "wallop" to snatch it with strong talons. - **Habitat**: Arctic tundra when nesting; meadows, marshes and dunes at other times, around the northern parts of North America and Eurasia. - **Diet**: Mostly lemmings, voles and other rodents; also rabbits and hares, and on coasts it may feed heavily on ducks and geese. - **Tags**: raptor-bird, arctic-tundra, carnivore ## Natural History & Behavior ## A Daylight Hunter of the Open Tundra Most owls rule the night, but Animal Diversity Web calls the snowy owl "largely diurnal," and Audubon notes that it often hunts by day. It nests on the tundra, and its breeding range runs from coastal Alaska, Canada and Greenland to northern Scandinavia, Russia and northern Siberia. In winter it often moves south to southern Canada, the northern United States and similar latitudes around the world, where it turns up on meadows, marshes and dunes. ## Built for the Cold Audubon gives an adult's length as about 61 centimeters (24 inches), with wings spanning 1.4 meters (4 feet 7 inches). Adults weigh around 2 kilograms (4.5 pounds) on average, and females outsize males. Thick white feathers cover its legs and feet, protecting them from the cold. Adult males are pure white, while females are white with dark bars or spots. AnAge records one captive bird that lived at least 28 years. ## Hunting the Tundra A snowy owl usually hunts by watching for prey from a perch. Animal Diversity Web says it can swivel its head three-quarters of the way around, 270 degrees, to scan its hunting ground. Then it launches what the Owl Research Institute calls a "wallop", swooping down to snatch the target in its strong talons. Its diet is mostly lemmings, voles and other rodents, but it also takes rabbits and hares, and along coasts it may feed heavily on ducks and geese. It is one of the few owls that builds its own nest. The female picks a low, windswept rise such as a hummock or boulder, then scrapes out a shallow bowl in the turf or bare ground and leaves it unlined. Snowy owls are also wanderers, moving nomadically and breeding where prey is abundant. During some winters, large numbers appear south of the Canadian border. In temperate North America these winter irruptions come every three to five years, and a 2016 study found that winter owl numbers rose and fell with small-mammal numbers at two Canadian tundra sites the summer before. That fits the idea that a good summer lets the owls raise more young, swelling the number of migrants heading south the following winter. > **Chicks toddle before they fly.** Young snowy owls may leave the nest after two to three weeks, but Audubon says they cannot fly well until about seven weeks old. The Owl Research Institute describes fledglings spending nearly a month hiding and toddling around the tundra first. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Does a snowy owl hunt by day or by night? Mostly by day. The Owl Research Institute calls it mostly diurnal, and in the constant daylight of the Arctic summer it will hunt at any time of day. *(Source: [Owl Research Institute]())* ### How much does a snowy owl depend on lemmings? Often heavily. In the Arctic it may eat almost nothing but lemmings when they are around, and in many Arctic regions it may breed mainly in years when lemmings are plentiful, skipping nesting altogether when they are scarce. The clutch swings with the food supply too: anywhere from 3 to 11 eggs, with more laid when prey is abundant. *(Source: [Audubon Guide to North American Birds]())* ### Why do some snowy owls stay pure white while others keep dark bars and spots? Age and sex both play a part. A young snowy owl resembles an adult female, and males take several years to turn totally white. Adult females still show dark bars or spots. Audubon's guide sums up the extremes: young females are heavily marked, while old males are almost pure white. *(Source: [Owl Research Institute]())* ## Sources 1. [Nyctea scandiaca (snowy owl). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.]() 2. [Snowy Owl. Audubon Guide to North American Birds.]() 3. [Snowy Owl. Owl Research Institute.]() 4. [Bubo scandiacus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.]() 5. [Robillard et al. (2016). Pulsed resources at tundra breeding sites affect winter irruptions at temperate latitudes of a top predator, the snowy owl. Oecologia.]() 6. [Bubo scandiacus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T22689055A205475036.]() *Published August 31, 2026. 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