Why do snowy owls often hunt in daylight?

Arctic summers have nearly 24-hour daylight

How do male and female snowy owls usually differ?

Males are whiter, females have more dark bars

What affects how many eggs a snowy owl lays?

The number of lemmings available

What is a snowy owl irruption?

A large movement of owls far south in winter

Which famous fictional owl is a snowy owl?

Archimedes from The Sword in the Stone

Snowy Owl Quiz: Life and Hunting on the Arctic Tundra

Summer on the Arctic tundra brings round-the-clock daylight, so this owl often hunts in the day, and this snowy owl quiz explains how it survives the far north. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on lemmings, feathered feet, white males and barred females, ground nests, winter irruptions, Hedwig and Quebec's provincial bird.

Start Snowy Owl Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Habitat
Where do snowy owls breed?
Prey
Which small rodent is the snowy owl's main summer food?
Day
Why do snowy owls often hunt in daylight?
Colors
How do male and female snowy owls usually differ?
Feet
Why are snowy owl feet thickly feathered?
Nest
Where do snowy owls build their nests?
Eggs
What affects how many eggs a snowy owl lays?
Irruption
What is a snowy owl irruption?
Hedwig
Which famous fictional owl is a snowy owl?
Symbol
Which Canadian province has the snowy owl as its bird?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Where do snowy owls breed?
Answer: On the Arctic tundra
They nest across the far north of North America, Europe and Asia.
Q2: Which small rodent is the snowy owl's main summer food?
Answer: Lemming
A single owl may eat well over a thousand lemmings a year.
Q3: Why do snowy owls often hunt in daylight?
Answer: Arctic summers have nearly 24-hour daylight
Unlike most owls, they are active whenever prey is available.
Q4: How do male and female snowy owls usually differ?
Answer: Males are whiter, females have more dark bars
Older males can be almost entirely white.
Q5: Why are snowy owl feet thickly feathered?
Answer: For warmth in extreme cold
The feathers act like slippers on snow and ice.
Q6: Where do snowy owls build their nests?
Answer: In a scrape on the ground
Females choose raised mounds with a good view.
Q7: What affects how many eggs a snowy owl lays?
Answer: The number of lemmings available
In good lemming years, clutches are much larger.
Q8: What is a snowy owl irruption?
Answer: A large movement of owls far south in winter
Irruptions bring snowy owls to places like New York and the Great Lakes.
Q9: Which famous fictional owl is a snowy owl?
Answer: Hedwig from Harry Potter
Hedwig delivers mail to Harry.
Q10: Which Canadian province has the snowy owl as its bird?
Answer: Quebec
Quebec adopted it as its official bird in 1987.

Snowy Owl Quiz – Hunter of the Arctic

The snowy owl breeds on the Arctic tundra of North America, Europe and Asia. With thick feathers on its body and feet, it survives some of the coldest conditions any bird faces.

Lemmings are its main summer prey, and a single owl can eat well over a thousand a year. Because Arctic summers have almost constant daylight, snowy owls often hunt by day. Females lay eggs in a ground scrape, laying more in years when lemmings are plentiful.

Males are whiter, while females and young birds have dark bars. In some winters, large numbers move south in irruptions. The species gained fame as Hedwig in Harry Potter and is the official bird of Quebec.

What This Quiz Teaches

Birdwatchers and nature fans will enjoy these questions.

Where snowy owls live
What they eat
Why they hunt by day
How males and females differ
Where they appear in winter

Did You Know?

Snowy owls are among the heaviest owls in North America.
They sometimes rest on airport runways in winter.
They can turn their heads about 270 degrees.
The species is listed as vulnerable.
They were once placed in their own genus, Nyctea.