In the rest of this book you will get more detailed information about the incredible life of the Snowy Owl, the animals it stalks and its reproduction.
Snowy Owls lives on the tundra alone for about half of the year and in spring time they pair up and start a family. The Snowy Owl usually nests on the ground even though it is an excellent flyer. Snowy Owl's build their nest in a place that is crawling with lemmings since the lemming and other small ground animals make 80% of the owls food.
Each male or female has its own its own favorite perch or two where it sits for hours and this is its home most of the time. The male screeches out loud calls to mark his territory. When spring comes around the Snowy Owl give up a lot of its territory.
When the Snowy Owl's mating the caribou are tramping around the tundra where the Snowy Owl mated. When owlets are born the mother Snowy Owl must be careful that the predators tramping around the tundra don't catch her young.
The Snowy Owl's thick white feathers from head to toe help insulate it from the cold. When the Snowy Owl flies in a blizzard it faces straight into the wind so that the wind presses its feathers against its body. This helps the owl lock in body warmth, so it doesn't freeze in the winter cold. The Snowy Owl is one of the smallest numbers of birds that have feathers on their legs and feet.
The Snowy Owl is 27 inches tall, and it's wings can be 45 to 60 inches long. The Female is also larger and stronger than the male because she must scare away the predators form the eggs.
Since the Snowy Owl sometimes swallows its food whole, it has strong stomach juices which dissolves the edible parts of the food. The bones, teeth and fur of the animals are made into a pellet that is later regurgitated by the owl.
The Snowy Owl`s amazing eyesight helps it spot its prey. With the upper and lower eyelids the Snowy Owl has a 3rd eyelid. The 3rd eyelid is called a nictitating membrane. The nictitating membrane protects the eye and helps its eyesight. The Snowy Owl must turn its head to look sideways, but it can't turn its head 360°ree; around. The farthest it can turn its head its 270°ree; around.
Even though you can't see any ears on the owl's head it does have them. They sometimes raise a few small feathers, but these are just feathers. The ears look like long slitting openings that stretch from the top of the owl's skull to the top of its eyes. The flight feathers of the Snowy Owl are called pinions. The pinions help the Snowy Owl rise, fall, glide and fly gracefully with little effort, and without making a sound.
Snowy Owls also hunt the ground squirrel, the Snowshoe Hare and the Arctic Hare. However, in the summer the Snowshoe Hare is harder to find because its fur changes from white to brown so it is camouflaged. But, if the Snowy Owl wants to eat all of these delicious animals (well at least to them) it must hunt them.
The Snowy Owl has a technique for hunting. This is how it goes. It sits and waits for the unlucky victim. The only move the Snowy Owl will make during this time is a slight turn of its head, but its eyes and ears are always alert. When it sees its prey it clumsily hops toward its prey until it is with in reach. Then it uses its foot like a hand and tears its food into large pieces, or swallows it whole.
When Snowy Owls are mating the male and female don't pair up until the female has accepted the Lemmings that the male brings her. When they start to mate the male will bring her more lemmings to encourage her to nest. If they have to the Snowy Owl will fly south to hunt the lemmings. When the owlets hatch the mother will hunch over them to keep them warm. When the eggs hatch the ,mother must be very careful and alert that the owlets don't get eaten by predators. Luckily, to make life much easier for the mother the owlets stay in a small hole in the ground for their first 8 weeks. When they do get out of the nest they rarely go 100 yards away from it.
When the spring comes the male must attract a female. When the male takes off he will hoot at the same time, trying to get a females attention. When he sees a female he will quickly snatch a lemming "gift." Then, with the lemming "gift" in his claws, he lands and will put it down somewhere where she can see it. The male may shove the lemming toward her, or he might spread out his wings and waddle around the lemming again and again, hiding it from her view. If he sees that she is not watching he might feel that one lemming is not enough, so he takes off again and gets her a few more. When she is finally satisfied, the two of they fly away, soaring up and down. The male will sometimes swoop down and catch another lemming, and in mid air pass it to the female.
The Snowy Owl usually nest on the ground. While the female sits on the nest to keep the eggs warm the male brings her food. The eggs hatch one by one over the time of a month. The owlets are brought up and fed by both the male and the female. The owlets stay in a small hole in the ground and their flight feathers start to grow in. In eight weeks the owlets are ready to fly off and search for food on their own.
Return to Bank Street
©2000
The Wild Ones
c/o Wildlife Trust
61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964-8000
Tel: 845.365.8337 Fax: 845.365.8177