Snowy owl

Female snowy owl

Snowy owl during flight

Bubo scandiacus

The snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) is an owl native to the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. They hunt rodents.

Lemmings are a favourite prey. They will also hunt fish and small mammals

The male's mating call sounds like krek-krek, while the female's mating call sounds like pyee-pyee or prek-prek.

In the novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (USA edition: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), Harry is assigned a female snowy owl as his animal companion. Her name is Hedwig.

Snowy Owl Media

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  The engraving Snowy Owl, Plate 121 of The Birds of America by John James Audubon. Male (top) and female (bottom).

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  Male Snowy Owl in the Adlerwarte Berlebeck in Berlebeck, Detmold, Germany

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  Young owl on the tundra at Utqiaġvik, Alaska. Snowy owls lose their black feathers with age, although individual females may retain some

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  Snowy owls have powerful feet that are heavily covered with feathering.

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  Male snowy owls such as this are particularly distinctive due to the extensive whiteness.

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  Juvenile snowy owl, about 12 weeks old

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  Bobby Tulloch, the Shetland RSPB warden, at the site of the snowy owl nest on the island of Fetlar, Shetland, in August 1967

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  Wing structure

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  Snowy owls often seek out grassy and open habitats year around.

• A waterlogged snowy owl in winter victim to the very swift mobbing of a peregrine falcon.