INTERESTING

ABOUT

WHITE OWL

If there is food, it can remain in its range all year round, but in particularly harsh and hungry winters it migrates to the forest tundra and steppes.

The Polar White Owl is a rare and beautiful predator that lives in the tundra zone of Eurasia, North America, Iceland, and on several Arctic islands.

The bird rightfully holds the title of a large feathered predator of the polar zone, belonging to the order of owls.

The white owl or polar owl, is a species of bird in the owl family. Previously, the species was included in a separate genus Nyctea Stephens, 1826. At the moment, the prevailing opinion among experts is that the species belongs to the genus Bubo (Owl). However, in the 2006 list of birds of the Russian Federation, the white owl is assigned to the genus Nyctea.

Chicks do not resemble majestic parents in any way: until they grow up, they wear a camouflage brown — brown color. Even in grown-up owls up to a year, the color is slightly different from the parent: there are a lot of brown spots on the backs of their heads, and a characteristic transverse brown pattern appears on the body.

White owls are considered the largest of the representatives of the order of Owls. However, females are larger than males and can weigh up to 3 kg, while males — only 2 — 2.5 kg. The body length of an adult often reaches 65 cm (in females 70 cm), and the wingspan reaches more than one and a half meters.

The color is naturally snow-white, with characteristic brown stripes and mottling. But in females, the brown markings are more pronounced than in males. Those, in turn, can boast almost perfectly white plumage.

Lemmings are traditionally the main food of white owls. This rodent species is widespread in the area of polar owls. To satisfy hunger, the polar owl needs to eat more than four lemmings a day. In addition to these rodents, birds like to hunt larger mammals. Their best prey are hares, cubs of arctic foxes or stoats. I don't mind eating other birds, fish and even carrion.

The polar owl does not hunt near its habitat, so as not to attract predators to it. Thanks to this, seagulls build their nests next to the bird, as they can feel safe there.

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Like other related birds, it flies completely silently. It has this feature due to its unique plumage.

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The polar owl is not the largest of its kind. The fish owl, for example, is noticeably larger. However, among all the northern owls living in the tundra, it is still the largest.

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Among all the owls, only the polar one leads a daytime lifestyle. Everyone else hunts only at dusk or at night.

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It is the polar owl that is the largest winged inhabitant of the tundra.

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This bird is capable of turning its head 270 degrees. At the same time, her eyes are completely motionless, so in order to look somewhere else, she turns not the eyeballs, but the whole head.

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Basically, it lives in one place, but sometimes in search of food, the polar owl wanders for quite considerable distances.

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The polar owl feeds only on animal food. She doesn't eat plants, none at all.

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In captivity and with good care, the polar owl can live up to 28 years, but in the wild their life span is usually three times less.

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When the nest is in danger, the male makes a characteristic sound that is very similar to laughter. Harsh birds are especially talkative during the breeding season. They can make trills, various barking and wheezing sounds, croak, hiss and whistle. Therefore, many people think that a raven lives in the nest, not an owl.

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Polar owls never hunt near their nest, even if there is potential prey nearby. Therefore, other birds often settle next to them, as the owl jealously protects the neighborhood from predators.

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In nature, foxes and arctic foxes are the main danger to polar owls. An adult bird is too much for them, but they often ruin their nests by eating eggs and chicks.

The female lays eggs not in one day, but with breaks. Therefore, the cubs are of different ages. The last eggs are warmed by the first hatched chicks while the parents hunt.

Babies begin to fly after 4—6 weeks. By this time there are already enough lemmings in the vicinity, which are just coming out of hiding to breed. Thanks to them, young birds are provided with food and quickly learn to hunt. They enter puberty in a year.

The white owl leads a solitary lifestyle, and during the nesting period they create monogamous or disposable pairs, depending on the region.
The mating season begins in early spring.

After complex courtship rituals and the creation of a couple, in mid-May, eggs are laid up to 5—8 pieces, and in particularly prosperous years about 15.

For the nest, owls choose holes in dry ground on hilly or crossed by streams landscape. The bottom is sometimes lined with dry plants, moss and down.

Polar owls prefer to inhabit large open areas and small mountain hills. As a rule, they avoid wooded areas, sticking to tundra and forest tundra. This is due to the fact that it is much more difficult for owls to find prey in remote forests.

The polar owl can be found in the northern latitudes of both hemispheres. Individuals of polar owls are widely distributed in the Arctic Ocean. In particular, they live on Wrangel Island, in New Zealand, in Greenland and Svalbard.