Where do Snowy Owls live?

Snowy Owl Habitat

Arctic tundra is the breeding ground of snowy owls. The summer habitation of these owls is far north of the Arctic Circle. They also migrate to the northernmost regions of Canada, Europe, Asia and Alaska. Snowy owls usually prefer living in wide open tundra, grass meadowlands and other treeless regions of the Arctic including wetter coastal areas. However, in winter, the owl is a frequent migrant to the south where warmer climates prevail and it prefers inhabiting open fields, grasslands, prairies, coastal swamplands, big airfields, beaches and steppes. In winter, the most preferred habitat of this owl is the Great Plains. Snowy owls are also found at an altitude of 300 meters high above the sea level.

Snowy Owl Distribution

Snowy owls breed in the northernmost regions of the world. The breeding grounds of these owls are northernmost stretches of Canada (northern regions of Quebec and Labrador), Siberia, Scandinavia, Russia, Greenland and western Aleutians of Alaska. The winter distribution of the snowy owls is the northern regions of Europe, China and United States as well as central Russia, the British Isles and Iceland. During winter when the food is scarce, they migrate southwards and are found far toward south in central California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and northernmost parts of Alabama and Oklahoma.

Sources:

Kirschbaum, Kari, et al. “Snowy Owl”. BioKids – University of Michigan

“Snowy Owl”. Defenders of Wildlife

Kaufman, Kenn. “Snowy Owl”. National Audubon Society