🦉Snowy Owl
The snowy owl, also known as the polar owl, the white owl and the Arctic owl, is a large, white owl of the true owl family. Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding mostly on the tundra. It has a number of unique adaptations to its habitat and lifestyle, which are quite distinct from other extant owls. One of the largest species of owl, it is the only owl with mainly white plumage. Males tend to be a purer white overall while females tend to have more extensive flecks of dark brown. Juvenile male snowy owls have dark markings and may appear similar to females until maturity, at which point they typically turn whiter. The composition of brown markings about the wing, although not foolproof, is the most reliable technique for aging and sexing individual snowy owls.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2021.
- Body mass
- 2.03 kg
- Body length
- not recorded
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 28 years
Everything we know about the Snowy Owl
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass2.03 kgAVONETOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 2.04 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Tail length0.21 mAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Wing length0.42 mAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Beak length0.04 mAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Tarsus length0.06 mAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Maximum lifespan28 yearsAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Gestation32 daysAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Litter sizeabout 6AnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Trophic levelCarnivoreAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
HabitatGrasslandAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
LifestyleInsessorialAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l2 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Snowy Owl yet: body length, shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classAves
- ›orderStrigiformes
- ›familyStrigidae
- ›genusBubo
- ›speciesBubo scandiacus
- orderSauria
- classBirds · Aves
- orderOwls · Strigiformes
- familyStrigidae
All 11 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- orderSauria
- classBirds · Aves
- orderOwls · Strigiformes
- familyStrigidae
More about the Snowy Owl
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