Snowy owl Facts for Kids
Bubo scandiacus · BOO-boh skan-dee-AY-kus
A big white owl of the open Arctic tundra.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ 3.2 to 3.5 lb1.5 to 1.6 kg1
- 📏 25 to 29 in63 to 73 cm1 long
- 🎂 9 years9 years1
- 🍽️ meat
- Needs help (Vulnerable)
A snowy owl is a big white owl. It lives on the open Arctic tundra. It eats lemmings and mice.
Snowy owls live on open tundra in the Arctic, in North America, Europe and Asia. In winter, when food is scarce, some fly south. Their main foods are lemmings and mice.
A snowy owl is a big white owl with dark spots. It nests on open Arctic tundra, in North America, Europe and Asia, and it moves south in winter when food is scarce. Its main foods are lemmings and mice, and sometimes it eats rabbits, seabirds and fish. The oldest known wild snowy owl lived for more than nine years.
How big is a snowy owl?
Snowy owl in numbers
| Length | 25 to 29 in63 to 73 cm1 |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | 3.2 to 3.5 lb1.5 to 1.6 kg1 |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | 9 years9 years1at least; the oldest known wild owl |
| What it eats | lemmings and mice, and sometimes rabbits, seabirds and fish |
| Where it lives | open Arctic tundra, with some flying south in winter |
| What kind | Birds |
| Is it in danger? | Needs help (Vulnerable)2 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- A snowy owl lives on open tundra in the Arctic.
- In winter some snowy owls fly south when food is scarce.
- Its main foods are lemmings and mice.
Compare the snowy owl
Friends and neighbours
Arctic fox
Polar bear
Reindeer (caribou)Three questions
Books about the snowy owl, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the snowy owl for free.
For teachers
Use this animal in class: its facts are on this page, and the cards print from it.
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Nyctea scandiaca (snowy owl), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, Snowy owl (Q170177), checked 30 October 2026.