Snowy Owl
The scientific name for the Snowy Owl is Bubo scandiacus. Snowy Owls belong to the ‘Typical’ or ‘True’ Owl family, Strigidae. All owls are split into two families; Strigidae and tytonidae (Barn Owls). The snowy owl was classified as belonging to the Strigidae family and obtained its scientific name in 1758.
Other names for the Snowy Owl include ‘Harfang’, ‘Arctic Owl’ and ‘Great White Owl’. These names are often used in North America.
Recent analysis of Snowy Owls’ DNA have shown that these owls are fairly closely related to Horned Owls, which make up the genus ‘Bubo’ along with the old-world eagle owls, and so it’s name was changed from ‘Nyctea scandiaca’ to ‘Bubo Scandiacus’. Previously the snowy owl was the only member of the ‘Nyctea’ genus.
Did you know that the snowy owl is the official bird of Quebec?
The snowy owl is a relatively large bird, being 20-26 inches long and having a wingspan of 50-60 inches. They are easy to recognize, with their yellow eyes, black bill or beak and their pure white colour. Males tend to be a more purer white than females, chicks and fledglings, who tend to have darker ‘smudges’ on their feathers. Some even have dark spots on their wings.
Female snowy owls are bigger than males in general as they are the ones who have to protect their young from predators.
Their diet is mainly made up of rodents and lemmings, but in times when food is scares they will sometimes eat ptarmigan. Like most other owls, snowy owls swallow their food whole. Their stomach then processes the food and any unwanted parts (fur, bones e.t.c) get pressed into a hard pellet which they yarp (regurgitate) back up around 18-24 hours later. Snowy owls will tend to yarp a pellet at regular intervals and often from the same perch.
August 3, 2010
· 
Maddia (Admin) · 
2 Comments
Tags: birds of prey, snowy owls, white owls · Posted in: Owls
2 Responses
Very nice post!
Thanks for the great details! Looking forward to hearing more stuff about this!