DESCRIPTION

   A Snowy Owl is 4 feet 7 inches in wingspan. A Snowy Owl has a very large and round head.  A Snowy Owl can range from dark white with black spots to pure white. The female is larger and more heavily marked than the male. The owl uses its white body to camouflage in its arctic climate. The feathers on the Snowy Owl’s body cover all of its body parts that would stand out in the snow. The female is more equipped for staying in bushes and caring for her young because of her camouflage markings. The male is more equipped for hunting because it is almost pure white. click here to see a picture  

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VOICE OR SOUND

 The Snowy Owl is vocal only around the nest and is rarely heard at any other season. During breeding season, males make a deep, booming hoot that can carry great distances. When agitated, the male gives a series of higher pitched “kre” or “kra” calls. The birds produce a variety of hisses, whistles, shrieks, and bill-snapping sounds, but most of these are around the nest area. The Snowy Owl is very quiet. click here to hear one of their calls  

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HABITAT

 The Snowy Owl’s habitat is the Arctic.  The Snowy Owl is a bird of the Arctic tundra or open grasslands and fields.  They rarely venture into forests.  During southward movements they appear along lakeshores, marines coastlines, marshes and even roost on buildings in cities.  When wintering in the Arctic, they frequent wind-swept tundra with little snow or ice accumulation.  At more southern latitudes they typically frequent agricultural areas.
  

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NESTING/EGGS

 The Snowy Owl lays 5-8 eggs on the ground of the tundra. The females incubate the eggs about 32 days. These owls eat small mammals.  You can find portions of their skeletons in pellets.  (Click here to see one)  The males bring the females food during this time. The baby owls leave the nest 6-8 weeks after they hatch. 

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RANGE

 The Snowy Owl lives in northern Canada and Alaska. In the winter, when Alaska has darkness almost 24 hours, the owl migrates to the upper Great Lakes states, northern plains states and northwest states. When food is scarce, the owl may visit central California and the upper southern states. click here to see a map  

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SPECIAL FEATURE

 The Snowy Owl has tremendously good camouflage. It is white and lives where it snows. The Snowy Owl can swoop down and catch prey with out noticing until it is too late. 

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ABOUT THIS BACKGROUND

This background was created from images of sculptures created by this team's members.  The sculptures were photographed using a digital camera, edited using PhotoShop 6.0, copied and pasted together to make the new image that we used for this background.