Snowy owls are large, white owls that live in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. They have completely white plumage that acts as camouflage in their snowy Arctic environment. Snowy owls are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day. They can often be seen perched on high vantage points surveying the landscape for prey. Snowy owls are opportunistic hunters and eat a variety of prey including lemmings, voles, hares, squirrels, ducks, seabirds, and even fish. Their excellent eyesight and hearing allow them to hunt effectively in the treeless tundra. Read on to learn more about how these magnificent raptors hunt and consume their prey.
What do snowy owls eat?
Snowy owls are carnivores that eat a variety of small mammals and birds. Their main prey varies based on their geographic location and seasonal availability.
Lemmings
In many parts of the Arctic, lemmings make up the bulk of the snowy owl’s diet. Lemmings are small rodents that resemble hamsters or gerbils. There are several species found throughout the Arctic tundra regions. Lemming populations fluctuate in 3-4 year cycles, with peak years where their numbers explode followed by years where they are scarce. Snowy owls time their breeding to match peak lemming years, allowing them to readily find food for their hungry young.
Voles
Voles are another small mouselike rodent that are common prey for snowy owls. There are several different vole species found in the Arctic tundra, meadow vole, wood vole, northern red-backed vole, etc. Voles make up an important part of the snowy owl diet when lemming populations crash.
Hares and rabbits
Snowshoe hares and Arctic rabbits are also common prey. Being larger than lemmings and voles, hares and rabbits represent a heartier meal for snowy owls. Their white winter coat camouflages them in the snowy landscape, but snowy owls are still able to spot them with their excellent vision.
Birds
Snowy owls also prey on a variety of Arctic bird species including ptarmigan, ducks, grebes, loons, geese, and seabirds. Their feathers and down make them easy to digest. Large waterfowl can provide an especially nourishing meal for snowy owls.
Fish
On coastlines and around tundra lakes and ponds, snowy owls will eat fish like cod, capelin, sculpin and arctic char. They grab them near the water surface with their sharp talons.
Other prey
Other prey that snowy owls will eat opportunistically include squirrels, muskrats, rats, grouse, crows, gulls, skuas, insects, spiders, crustaceans and even other raptors.
Hunting techniques
Snowy owls have a variety of hunting techniques and strategies they use to catch the prey they feed on.
Still-hunting
Snowy owls often hunt from a fixed perch or high vantage point like a rock, ridge, tree stump or hummock. They scan the surroundings below intently listening and looking for prey. Once spotted, they swoop down and use their talons to grab and kill prey. Their bright white plumage allows them blend into the snowy background from above.
Cruising over tundra
Snowy owls will also cruise low over the open tundra listening and watching for signs of concealed prey tucked into burrows, grassy hummocks or underneath the snow. When prey is detected they quickly snatch it with their talons or dig it out with their beak.
Ground pursuit
If prey tries to escape by running away over the ground, snowy owls are able to flap alongside and snatch them up. Their long legs also allow them to pursue prey on foot.
Wading in water
To catch aquatic prey like fish, frogs or aquatic rodents, snowy owls will wade into shallow water and grab them with their talons.
Plunge diving
For larger prey like ducks or seabirds, snowy owls may do a vertical plummeting dive down from the air to strike prey. They close their wings hitting the water with their talons out to grab aquatic birds.
Caching excess food
When prey is abundant, snowy owls cache (store) excess food. They bury lemmings, voles, baby hares, or seabirds under snow to hide and save them for later. This provides meals during leaner times.
Eating habits
Snowy owls exhibit some interesting habits and adaptations around consuming their prey.
Swallows prey whole
Snowy owls typically swallow small prey like lemmings, voles and hares whole. Their powerful talons kill prey on the spot, then the owl tilts its head back and swallows animals down in one gulp. They digest bones, fur and all!
Plucks feathers
For avian prey like ducks and seabirds, snowy owls pluck out all the feathers first before eating the meat. Feathers are indigestible and can form compacted balls in an owl’s stomach.
Eats on the ground
After making the kill, snowy owls often land and eat prey on the ground rather than taking it to a perch. Their bright white plumage provides camouflage while they feed.
Regurgitates pellets
Several hours after feeding, snowy owls disgorge pellets – the compacted, undigested fur, feathers, bones and exoskeletons they’ve swallowed. This clears indigestible material from their system.
Steals from other predators
Snowy owls will sometimes harass and steal prey from other predators like foxes, weasels or jaegers. This easy meal provides free calories.
Stockpiles excess food
As mentioned earlier, when prey is super abundant snowy owls cache (hide) excess food under snowbanks and vegetation to provide future reserves when fresh prey may be harder to find.
Amount of food and feeding habits
The amount of prey a snowy owl needs to eat depends on factors like its size, age, season, and prey availability. Some key points about snowy owl feeding habits:
Snowy Owl Age | Food Needed Per Day |
---|---|
Small chick | 1 lemming |
Older chick | 3-5 lemmings |
Juvenile | 5-10 lemmings |
Adult Male | 7-12 lemmings |
Adult Female | 8-15 lemmings |
- Chicks eat the most relative to their body size as they grow and develop.
- Females tend to take larger prey and need more food than males.
- Bigger prey like juvenile hares or ducks allow an owl to go days between hunts.
- In peak lemming years, snowy owls gorge and store excess food for leaner times.
- They can go weeks without food in low prey periods, living off fat stores.
Hunting frequency
How often a snowy owl needs to hunt depends on food availability:
- Abundant prey – An owl may only need to hunt every 2-4 days.
- Scarce prey – May need to hunt daily and still not get enough food.
- Nesting females hunt the most frequently to feed demanding chicks.
- Males do a majority of the hunting when feeding incubating females.
Meals per day
The number of meals a snowy owl eats in a day also varies:
- 1 big meal – After eating large prey like a duck or hare.
- 2-3 meals – Typical when prey like lemmings are available.
- 4-8 small meals – How often chicks are fed with tiny pieces of prey.
Metabolic adaptations
Snowy owls have some key metabolic and digestive adaptations that allow them to survive in the harsh Arctic environment:
Efficient nutrient extraction
They are able to efficiently extract calories, fat and protein from lean foods like lemmings to fuel their bodies and maintain body heat.
Fat storage
In times of plenty, snowy owls build up sizable fat reserves that provide energy when prey is scarce. Fat also helps insulate them from the cold.
Slowed metabolism
They can slow their metabolism significantly to conserve energy when food is limited. This helps them avoid starvation.
Meal storage
Caching surplus food allows owls to stave off hunger when fresh prey can’t be found. Their hungry stomachs produce acids to help break down stored food.
Re-ingestion of pellets
In dire circumstances, snowy owls can re-eat their own nutrient-rich pellets to gain sustenance when prey is extremely scarce. This provides vital protein, fat and minerals.
Drinking and water ingestion
Unlike some desert birds, snowy owls do not need to drink much open standing water. They gain moisture from their prey’s flesh and body fluids. However, some notes on snowy owls and water:
- Nestlings are provided water by parents regurgitating liquid.
- Adults will drink occasionally from tundra pools, lakes and ocean water.
- They eat snow to fulfill water needs but do not ingest salt water.
- On prey like fish, owls consume the eyes and body fluids for hydration.
Overall, getting water from prey meets almost all of a snowy owl’s moisture requirements. They are well adapted to the cold dry Arctic climate.
Differences between males and females
There are some subtle differences between male and female snowy owls when it comes to diet and feeding habits:
- Females are larger so usually take somewhat bigger prey.
- Females need more total food, especially when nesting and nurturing chicks.
- Males do majority of hunting while females incubate eggs and brood young chicks.
- Females defend the nest area more aggressively than males.
- Males wander farther from the nest site on hunting forays.
But overall, male and female snowy owls have quite similar diets and hunting behaviors given their specialized Arctic niche. The sexes cooperate in raising young, with males providing most food to the nest.
Adaptations for catching prey
Snowy owls have a number of adaptations that make them effective hunters on the remote Arctic tundra:
- Exceptional eyesight – Can spot tiny prey from afar, excellent depth perception.
- Superb hearing – Keen in picking up faint rustling noises of hidden prey.
- Powerful talons – Sharp claws kill prey quickly on impact.
- Dense feathers – Incredibly insulating but also quiet in flight.
- Stealth flight – Wide rounded wings allow them to cruise silently on air currents.
- White plumage – Provides camouflage when hunting in snowy environments.
- Head rotation – Owls can turn heads 270 degrees allowing sharp vision in all directions.
This array of adaptations makes the snowy owl masterfully suited for finding and catching prey on the open Arctic tundra. Evolution has shaped them into specialized predators of this landscape.
Do snowy owls ever go hungry?
Yes, snowy owls can face periods of hunger especially when their primary prey like lemmings undergo population declines.
Prey scarcity
During crashes in lemming populations, snowy owls may go many days without eating if no alternative prey can be found. This forces them to dip into fat reserves and muscle mass to generate energy and prevent starvation.
Population impacts
Prolonged lack of food can have significant impacts on snowy owls:
- High chick mortality – Many nestlings may starve without ample food.
- Delayed breeding
- Reduced clutch sizes
- Poor adult body condition
- Increased adult mortality
Coping mechanisms
To get through periods of hunger, snowy owls employ a few key strategies:
- Prey on alternative prey like seabirds and waterfowl.
- Scavenge on carrion and steal kills from other predators.
- Move to better hunting areas if possible.
- Dig up food caches from previous seasons.
- Lower metabolism to conserve energy.
- Digest own nutrient-rich pellets.
These behaviors help mitigate hunger but prey scarcity does negatively impact snowy owl survival and reproduction. Abundant lemmings are key to their success.
Do snowy owls ever eat each other?
Cannibalism is rare among snowy owls but they may eat smaller owls in severe circumstances:
Eat smaller owl species
When starving, snowy owls may prey on smaller species like boreal, saw-whet and long-eared owls that share the same habitat.
Eat young snowy owls
Adult snowy owls almost never kill their own young for food. But if lemming crashes continue over successive years, older siblings may kill and eat younger siblings to survive before totally abandoning the nest territory.
Eat injured owls
Injured, dying or dead snowy owls may become an easy meal for others encountering them in times of need. But generally they avoid preying on their own kind and eating other raptors.
So while possible under desperate conditions, cannibalism appears quite rare in snowy owls. They seems to prefer starving themselves rather than regularly feeding on other owls to improve survival. Their strong parental bonds likely discourage eating their own offspring.
Conclusion
In summary, snowy owls are formidable predators exquisitely adapted to survive in the harsh Arctic environment. They employ a variety of hunting techniques to effectively find and catch prey like lemmings, voles, hares, ducks, seabirds and fish. Their distinctive white plumage provides camouflage while hunting. Snowy owls swallow most prey whole and pelletize indigestible material like bones, fur and feathers. They gorge when prey is abundant and cache food to survive leaner times. Males and females cooperate in providing for their demanding chicks. Though periods of starvation may occur during prey declines, snowy owls prove resilient to thrive in even the harshest Arctic conditions. Their specialized adaptations and hunting prowess make them magnificent avian predators.