Snowy Owl

• Its clutch size swings sharply with the abundance of lemmings, reaching as many as 11 eggs in a boom year.
• It feeds mainly on lemmings and other small rodents, supplemented with waterbirds.
• It lives on the Arctic tundra of North America and Eurasia, moving south in winter.
• reproducciónPlumage colour varies with age and sex, and the whitest males tend to breed most successfully.
• comportamientoUnlike most owls, it also hunts by day in the Arctic, where the sun stays up for almost the whole summer.
• comportamientoIn years when Arctic lemmings are scarce, some populations move hundreds of kilometres south in search of other food, a phenomenon known as an irruption.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat & environment

Open Arctic tundra while breeding, moving to open fields and coasts at more temperate latitudes in winter

Birth weight

45 grams

Size at birth

Semi-altricial, with white down on hatching

Sexual maturity

2 years

Gestation / incubation

31-34 days

Litter / clutch size

3 to 11 eggs per clutch (up to 16 in peak lemming years)

Lifespan in captivity

Documented record of up to 28 years in captivity

Sources consulted: AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Cool Antarctica; Maryland DNR; Animalia.bio; A-Z Animals; Animal Diversity Web; Wikipedia (Snowy owl)