Snowy owl

© Jérémie LeBlond-Fontaine/Getty Image

Owl by myself. An avian predator built for the snow

The striking snowy owl on our homepage is female. How do we know this? Because male snowy owls are almost entirely white, while females and young owls have these patterns of black feathers among their snow-white plumage. The colouring is an adaptation to the owls’ habitat in the Arctic tundra. All snowy owls have distinct golden eyes, and like other owls, they can rotate their heads about 270 degrees.