Snowy Owl Facts For Kids
Interesting Facts About Snowy Owls For Kids
Thank you so much for stopping by! Today we are going over some snowy owl facts for kids. Snowy owls are absolutely amazing creatures. They are very different from other owls, because they make their presence known during the day instead of nigh time. I hope you enjoy this beautiful and amazing creature as much as I have!
Snowy Owls are among the the Largest North American owl species. Not to mention are the largest bird species in the arctic! They are mostly white, with brown spots and sparse bars. The Female Snowy Owl is usually darker with more prominent markings than the male Snowy Owls. These markings make it possible to camouflage in the usually snowy habitat. There thick plumage helps insulate the Snowy owl from the cold weather. Their toes and claws are covered with thick feathers and beak is dark in color, small but very strong. They have beautiful golden cat like eyes, but their eyes are considered small amongst other owls. There black claws can range from 25 to 35 mm making it possible to grab lemmings and foxes. Snowy owls are very content to sit still or hours! When hunting, they will use their extraordinary hearing and vision to draw on their prey who could be scurrying under the snow! He can fly, run, or even pounce to attack his prey ; gulping him down head first in a single smooth motion!
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Snowy Owls Habitat. Snowy owls tend to like wide open spaces and treeless areas, such as the Great Plains, Tundra, beaches or even fields. Anywhere from sea level up to about 300 m elevation. They prefer to be able to survey the surrounding area and even like to sit right on the ground when hunting. On winter grounds you will find them perched on anything nearby, fence, poles, or even hay bails anywhere with a great view! In winter, it is common to find Snowy owls in areas such as Canada, the 
northern United States, British Isles, Iceland, central Russia, norther Europe, and last but not least northern China and Sakhalin. Even though they are usually found in the arctic, every couple years they will spend the winter months much farther south.
Snowy Owls Food. Snowy owls prefer to eat mainly small rodents, but because they are one of the most agile owls they are even capable of catching small birds while they are on the fly. On both their breeding and winter grounds their diet is known to change widely between such animals as rodents, rabbits, weasels, wading birds, sea birds, ducks, geese and grebes. When found becomes scarce, Snowy owls will often travel farther south in search of food leaving their usually hunting areas. they have been spotted as far south as Oklahoma, northern Alabama, and even seen in central California!
Snowy Owls Breeding. The Snowy Owl usually breed in coastal Alaska, Canada, and Greenland also in northern Scandinavia, and Russia. The male snowy owl puts on an amazing mating display on his breeding ground. Flying up into the air with massive wind beats while holding a recent kill in its large talons or bill. Quickly descending to the ground with wings flapping vigorously or in a perfect “V”. Next he proceeds to drop his prey on the ground and lowers his head, stands erect all while fanning his tail feathers waiting for the female to approach.
Breeding season takes place between May and September. After the the courtship takes place, the males and females form pairs ( although if food is readily available, often times one male will breed with two separate females.) The Male is in charge of establishing a territory, while the female gets to choose a site to build her nest. Nest are just a simple shallow hole carved in the ground. Although it is in the ground it is usually atop a small hill or boulder. The female snowy owl can lay anywhere from 3-11 eggs every other day. If it is a plentiful year for food it is possible for her to lay up to 16 eggs! The baby chicks will hatch after 32 days about one every other day. Both Parents share the duties of protecting the chicks. The male brings the food, while the mother shreds it and feeds the chicks. Baby snowy owls with stay in there next about 14-26 days.
Snowy Owl Facts For Kids
Interesting Facts About Snowy Owls For Kids
Alright, here is what you have been waiting for. Let’s get started on some amazing and fun snowy owl facts for kids. Let’s start with the basics, then we will work our way to amazing!
Interesting Snowy Owl Facts For Kids
Snowy Owl Facts For Kids
♦ Unlike other owls, snowy owls hunt during the daytime.
♦ In Europe The Snowy owl can be found represented in a cave paintings.
♦ Snowy owl is North Americas heaviest owl weighing in at about 4 lbs a pound heavier than the Great Horned Owl. It is also believed to be one of the most powerful.
♦ The oldest known snowy owl was found in Massachusetts. It was banned in 1988 and found again in 2004 making him 16 years old and 8 months!
♦ It was once reported that a single snowy owl attacked a pair of arctic wolves to defend its territory!
♦ It is common to see Snowy Owls at airports, the wide open space reminds them of the tundra.
♦ A full grown snowy owl can eat up to 3 to 5 lemmings in just one day! That turns out to be about 1,600 per year.
♦ The Snowy Owl is also known as the Great white owl or the Arctic Owl.
♦ The Snowy Owls breeding area ranges across the northern areas of Greenland, Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia.
♦ Snowy Owls can live about 28 years.
♦ Snowy owls use a courtship display to attract their mate.
♦ They communicate through hoots, and a mewing hiss.
♦ Known predators include Humans, foxes, and jaegers.
♦ The Snowy owl was first classified in 1758 by Caroulus Linnaeus who was a Swedish naturalist. He developed the binomial nomenclature which made it possible to classify and organize plants and animals.
Snowy Owl Facts For Kids
Cool Snowy owl Stuff!
Snowy Owl Facts For Kids Video
See the amazing snowy owls in motion. This video gives some more information and also shows them in action. They are truly amazing.
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Snowy Owl Facts For Kids
Snowy Owl Interesting Facts Conclusion
There are about 290,000 Snowy Owls in the world today. However, this species in threatened in the United states and is now protected but the U.S. government as a migratory bird. The Snowy Owl is truly a beautiful creature and unique in the owl community. Hopefully you will be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one in the wild!
I hope you enjoyed learning about the Snowy Owl. I have learned so many fun Snowy Owl facts for kids, I’m glad I took the time to research and share with you! I hope you found this creature and interesting and amazing as I did!
We have many other awesome facts about other animals and topics. Check out the top of the page to navigate our other categories! You can check out the top 20 most amazing creatures you never knew existed.
Snowy Owl facts for kids.
