Discover

Today
Animals
Explore
Archive
Search

Use it

Classroom
Resources
Field lab
Quiz
Saved

Trust

Methodology
Sources
Corrections
Accessibility
Contributors

Details

About
Contact
Privacy
Terms
Newsletter

Animal profile

Snowy Owl

Bubo scandiacus

AvesArctic tundra in summer; open fields, shorelines and airfields in winterVulnerable

Field profile

A large, heavy owl of open Arctic country, white with variable dark barring that is heaviest in young birds and adult females. It hunts lemmings and other small mammals largely by day during the Arctic summer. It nests on the ground, on a scrape on raised tundra.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2025-04-14

Snowy Owl

Snowy owls wander rather than migrate on a route

Tracking shows snowy owls do not follow fixed migration routes. Individuals shift hundreds or thousands of kilometres between years, breeding wherever lemmings are abundant, and some winter far out on Arctic sea ice rather than moving south.

Read with evidence →

Snowy Owl | Daily Animal Facts