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What Do Snowy Owls Eat

Writer Caleb Butler

Learn What Snowy Owls Eat

Distinguishable from other owl species, snowy owls are covered in white plumage as if made of ice. These nomadic birds have a fascinating appearance including their strikingly yellow eyes, for example. Native to Arctic regions from North America to some parts of Asia and Europe, snowy owls are wanderers!

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Unlike other owls, snowy owls can forage in the daytime and night as well. Because of their amazing hunting skills, snowy owls take advantage of the variety of food opportunities. Their ability to spot the prey from distance allows them to capture the prey easily.

With the sweep, snowy owls would take hold of their prey while still flying in the air. Snowy owls are carnivores – typically feeding on meat as a whole. Here, we’ll look at “What do Snowy Owls eat?” related to their preference in the diet.

Insects and Animals

Being the birds of prey, Snowy owls hunt several kinds of animals including invertebrates. After searching for food from a distance by flying and hovering, snowy owls can easily detect the prey.

After having caught the prey, snowy owls enjoy their meal on the ground. Snowy owls eat lemmings as many times as five in a day. It’s one of their favorite diets to catch and eat whenever they detect them.

Snowy owls would gulp down the whole, consuming as many as 1,000 lemmings. When lemmings aren’t available, snowy owls have to switch to other diet opportunities. Hence, snowy owls eat rats, rabbits, weasels, and snakes as well. Snowy owls prey on arctic animals including a myriad of foxes, wolves, and hares native to the Arctic regions.

Therefore, snowy owls eat arctic wolves, arctic foxes, caribou, and arctic hares. Snowy owls hunt and consume aquatic creatures including different types of fish and amphibians. Besides, snowy owls eat meat, fish, birds, mice, cats, and small dogs.

Fruit, Plants, and Vegetables

Primarily, snowy owls depend on meat of all kinds, usually fish and small animals. It is because they are the birds of prey, meaning they hunt and nosh at the prey.

They’ve not adapted to feeding on plants, fruits, or vegetation growing in the Arctic region. In terms of plants, snowy owls won’t eat bark, cherries, grass, or anything related to vegetation. They don’t even feed on bird feeders if they have bird seeds!

What snowy owls don’t eat?

Being the exclusive carnivores, snowy owls exclude most of the edible things that aren’t part of their feast. The region where snowy owls dwell has a great deal of food supply. However, snowy owls have their preference when it comes to their diet.

You know for the fact that snowy owls don’t eat plants because they prefer meat, specifically. Apart from that, snowy owls don’t eat berries and blueberries.

There is a certain multitude of animals and birds that snowy owls wouldn’t prefer to feast on. For instance, snowy owls don’t eat owls, polar bears, reindeer, wolf spiders, and wolverines. Snowy owls capture and feast on small and large animals including foxes and wolves.