The amazing snowy owl stands out even among its own kind. All owls and eagle owls are very peculiar, they differ significantly from most other birds, but the huge white predator deserves special attention. Nothing can hide from her sensitive hearing, besides, her huge physical strength and lightning-fast reaction allow her to hunt even large prey.
Interesting facts about the snowy owl
- Its other name is «white». Actually, it is also official, but the name «polar» has stuck among the people.
- The polar owl is not the largest of its kind. Fish owl, for example, is noticeably larger. However, among all the northern owls living in the tundra, it is still the largest (interesting facts about owls).
- The wingspan of an adult snowy owl often exceeds 1.5 meters.
- Like other birds related to her, she flies completely silently. It has this feature thanks to its unique plumage.
- Among all owls, only the polar owl is diurnal. All others hunt only at dusk or at night.
- It is the polar owl that is the largest winged inhabitant of the tundra (interesting facts about the tundra).
- This bird is able to turn its head 270 degrees. At the same time, her eyes are completely motionless, therefore, in order to look somewhere else, she does not turn her eyeballs, but her whole head.
- The polar owl feeds only on animal food. She does not eat plants, none at all.
- Basically, she lives in one place, but sometimes, in search of food, the snowy owl wanders over quite considerable distances.
- The impressive size allows her to hunt even on hares and small but dangerous predators like stoats.
- Lemmings form the basis of the snowy owl’s diet. On average, one bird eats more than 1,500 of these small animals per year.
- Throughout the year, these birds are quite silent. They usually give voice only during the mating season.
- Little snowy owls learn to fly when they are 50-55 days old.
- In captivity and with good care, the snowy owl can live up to 28 years, but in the wild, their lifespan is usually three times less.
- The snowy owl is the symbol of Quebec, one of the Canadian provinces.
- The white owl’s body weight can reach 3 kg.
- These birds live alone, meeting with their own kind only for breeding.
- Snowy owls never hunt near their nest, even if there is potential prey nearby. Therefore, other birds often settle next to them, as the owl jealously protects the surroundings from predators.
- Of all the hatched chicks, usually no more than half survive.
- In nature, the main danger to snowy owls is foxes and foxes. An adult bird is too tough for them, but they often destroy their nests, eating eggs and chicks.