Ubaid KhalidDo you have any idea what does a snowy owl look like? The snowy owl has unmistakable white plumage with mottled dark brown appearance. The dark spots are spattered over the white plumage of snowy owls. These dark markings change with age and sex of the owl. Let’s talk about snowy owl physical description.
What Does a Snowy Owl Look Like?
The eyes are irides yellow in color. Its black bill is hooked and tapers off. The bill is almost cloaked in rictal bristle plumage. A female snowy owl has often small ear-tufts that may be 20 to 25 millimeters in length. Its legs are concealed in loosely structured white feathers. There are no feathers on the soles of its feet and claws.
In its first year, the bird is heavily speckled with dark brown markings. The male snowy owls are all-white in color with very few dark spots. Unlike male owls, the females tend to be heavily marked and have dusky barring. The male snowy owls get whiter with age but the females may not become all-white throughout their lives.
Sources:
Holt, Denver W., Matt D. Larson, Norman Smith, Dave L. Evans and David F. Parmalee. 2015. Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA
