| The snowy owl is one of the largest and most powerful of its clan. This magnificent bird is a somewhat rare, but regular winter visitor to the northern United States from the arctic tundra. Its numbers fluctuate greatly from year to year according to the availability of prey-especially the lemming.
During lean years, owl nesting is greatly retarded with the big females laying few eggs or not even nesting at all. But when food is plentiful, their clutches may contain as many as thirteen eggs. It is during these lean years, when competition for food is the greatest, that invasion flights occur and we are likely to see them this far south.
In its native habitat the snowy owl is, of course, a ground inhabiting bird; most individuals encountered here tend to remain so, occupying the most extensive open fields, especially the floodplains along big rivers. Others turn up in a variety of unlikely places such as TV antennas and road signs along highways.
The snowy owl is as active by day as by night, since in the arctic the seasons vary from continuous daylight in the summer to the long, dark winter.
This large white owl is unmistabable. Many show variable dare flecks on the white feathering. It has no ear tufts. Often seen standing on the ground or hummocks of snow or ice, this owl is voiceless away from it's breeding grounds in the arctic.
Length 20 to 23 inches
|
