Put your knowledge to the test! Do you know these cool facts about snowy owls?
1. They live in freezing temperatures
One snowy owl characteristic is their ability to withstand the coldest temperatures.
Snowy Owls often live in tundras where it gets as cold as negative 68 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s the only bird that can withstand temperatures that low!
2. Their feet are like snow shoes
Snowy owls have feather feet and toes for extra warmth. The feathers contour every nook and cranny adding a lot of bulk to their feet.
This bulkiness helps their feet function like snow shoes by spreading out their weight over a greater surface area. Thankfully their feet makeup for the snowy owl's weight keeping them from sinking in the snow.
- Related: 34 Winter Birds in Michigan
3. Hedwig from the Harry Potter films is a…boy?
Hedwig is actually a female snowy owl in the books but is portrayed by a male snowy owl in the Harry Potter movies!
Snowy owl male vs female identification is trickier in juvenile owls. Female snowy owls show heavier dark barring, whereas adult males can appear nearly pure white.
Young male snowy owls can have light brown marks called barring like the females but become whiter as they mature.
4. Their yellow eyes are because they’re diurnal
It’s a myth that their yellow eyes help reflect the light reflecting off the snow.
Instead, their eye color is a default for many diurnal raptors and birds of prey. They didn’t have much to gain from eye color camouflage like nocturnal owls.
Their upper eyelid protrudes a bit acting like sunglasses but you'll find them squinting a lot to reduce sun glare.
5. Snowy Owls are lone wolves
Unlike other birds like crows, snowy owls are solitary birds.
They don’t have close family networks. Mating season is the only time when they spend time together.
6. Some live at airports
Airports like Boston Logan Airport have tundra-like conditions and plenty of rodents for snowy owls to eat. The airports are surely glad for the free pest control
7. They’re the heaviest owl
Snowy owls weigh a whopping 4 pounds on average! Some even up to 6.5 pounds.
Most of their weight is because of the thick plumage they need to stay warm.
8. Snowy Owls have 3 eyelids
Owls are the only birds that blink like humans by lowering their upper eyelids. Their lower eyelids actually raise to close their eyes to sleep.
Their third “eyelid” is actually a transparent nictitating membrane that moves horizontally across their eyes for cleaning and protection.
9. Snowy Owls are mostly silent
Birds of prey are much quieter than song birds because they’re hunting for prey. A snowy owl call does exist despite it sounding different than popular birds like chickadees!
Snowy owl calls include hoots and squaks but they also hiss and screech for defense or out of aggravation.
10. They nest on the ground
Female snowy owls build their nests on elevated flat ground with a commanding view where she can easily spot prey. They scrape a shallow depression in the ground.
Snowy owls even sit when they hunt unlike other raptors who perch in trees.
11. They have asymmetrical ears
Snowy owls have a keen sense of hearing like many raptors. Their ears are asymmetrical to help locate where a sound is coming from.
- Related: 29 Winter Birds in Minnesota
12. Female snowy owls court the men with food
Old school dating rules are reversed with snowy owls. The women sometimes show up with food to male snowy owl courtship displays.
Male birds of all kinds do courtship dances, flights, and songs but male snowy owls favor impressive flights and poses.
Are snowy owls endangered?
No! Thankfully snowy owls aren't endangered. That's not to say they're in the clear.
The ___ (IUCN) lists them as a vulnerable species due to their declining population rates
Dr. McCabe of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in PA published "First-ever Global Status Assessment for Snowy Owls Raises Red Flags" in January of 2026.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly why their populations have decreased by half since the 1970s because of their nomadic and irruptive behavior, but she reports environmental threats to ecosystem functioning from gas, oil, and transport of pollutants across the Arctic are snowy owls' biggest threats.
The Orange Snowy Owl
Take this rare sight for example. A never-before-seen orange snowy owl nicknamed Creamsicle was spotted in Michigan in early 2025.
Expert Kevin McGraw believes the coloring is a gene mutation caused by pollutant exposure. More testing and observation needs to be done but there are a couple theories for its coloring.
Check out Project SNOWstorm to see how you can help snowy owls from becoming endangered.
Have you seen a snowy owl?
Share them on the Sparkbird App! Available in the Apple App Store.
- Related: How to Use the Sparkbird App
