雪鸮英文介绍

Snowy Owl
♦ WHAT DOES SNOWY OWL LOOK LIKE?
The Snowy Owl is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae(鸱鸮科). It ’s one of the largest species of owl, and in North America, is on average the heaviest owl species.This yellow-eyed, black-beaked white bird is easily regonizable. Its head is round and small, and there are many tough plumes around its mouth. The adult male is virtually white, while females and young birds have some dark scalloping. It
has think plumage taloned feet.
←_←Very sharp eyesight right? But everything has an exception…
♦ THE SNOWY OWL’S ECOLOGY
The snowy owl is typically found in the northen circumpola region, where it builds home in summer. The snowy owl only hunts during the day time, but Artic Circle is in polar night during winter, so it will migrate to more southerly latitudes. Because there is no trees in the Polar Regions, the snowy owl builds its nest on the tall rock. Breeding happens in May to June. The female will scrape a small hallow before
laying eggs and clutch sizes range from 3 to 11 eggs. The pure white young are
cared for by both parents. The snowy owl obeys monogamy(一夫一妻制), however,
when the food is adequate, the male may mate with two females which may nest
1km apart. Some individuals stay on the breeding grounds while others migrate.
♦ HUNTING AND DIET
The snowy owl relies on lemmings(旅鼠) and other small rodents for food during the breeding season. When the prey density is low, they feed on a wide variety of big and small mammals such as deer mice, hares, muskrats, dogs and foxes. They sometimes feeds on ducks, geese, pheasants, and fish. Each snowy owl must capture 7 to 12 mice per day to meet its food requirement and can eat more than 1600 lemmings per year. Snowy owls are diurnal, they hunt during the day and rest in night. Most of the snowy owls hunt in “sit and wait” style, they may capture prey on the ground or in the air, or snatching the fish off the surface of the water with their sharp talons.。