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Snowy Owl Bubo scandiacus   [Linnaeus, 1758]
Other Names Records Books & Links
Order: Strigiformes Family: Strigidae
BTO Codes: SO, SNOOW EURING No: 7490
Number in Britain: 3 records/year
Conservation Status:
UK: Not Assessed
European: 3 Concern, most not in Europe; Rare
Global: Least Concern
Links to: Images   Videos   Sound  

Status in UK: (A)  Accidental, Former Breeder
Subspecies: Monotypic
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Length: 60 cm Wingspan: 154 cm Weight: M/F: 2.1 kg    
Scientific name from: L.: bubo=the eagle-owl and after Scandinavia
World Distribution: n Europe, n Asia, n North America
Habitat: Tundra, in winter fields & prairie
Diet: Lemmings and voles, sometimes small birds
TitBit: Now known to most in the form of Hedwig, Harry Potter's familiar, a celebrated pair bred for eight years on the Shetland island of Fetlar until 1976, when the male failed to return, one or two females, though, summered every year until 1993 though no partn er ever appeared  
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Records and Distribution
First Record: 1808
Total Number of Records (1950-2007): 166 Summary of Records by Year
Most Likely to Occur in: November to June
Most Recent County Records:
   Scotland: Argyll (2005), Angus & Dundee (1965), Ayrshire (1863), Clyde (1947), Dumfries & Galloway (1945), Fife (1936), Highland (2006), Lothian (1964), Moray & Nairn (1996), Northeast (2007), Outer Hebrides (2007), Orkney (2005), Perth & Kinross (1996), Shetland (2005),
   North-east England: Cleveland (1881), Durham (1981), Northumberland (1973), East Yorkshire (1991), North Yorkshire (1975),
   North-west England: Cumbria (2001),
   English Midlands: Derbyshire (1841),
   Eastern England: Essex (1963), Lincolnshire (1990), Norfolk (1991), Suffolk (2001),
   South-east England: Hampshire (1965), Isle of Wight (1965), Kent (1965), East Sussex (1968), West Sussex (1926),
   South-west England: Cornwall (1948), Devon (1972), Somerset (1945), Wiltshire (1945), Isles of Scilly (1972),
   Wales: Anglesey (1972), Breconshire (1947), Caernarfonshire (2001), Glamorgan (1972), Gwent (1976),

Information provided by BirdGuides and BBRC
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Other Names
Previously Nyctea scandiacus
Gaelic: Comhachag-gheal Welsh: Tylluan yr Eira
Danish: Sneugle Dutch: Sneeuwuil
Finnish: Tunturipöllö French: Harfang des neiges
German: Schnee-Eule Hungarian: Hóbagoly
Icelandic: Snæugla Irish: Ulchabhán Sneachtúil
Italian: Gufo delle nevi Norwegian: Snøugle
Polish: Sowa sniezna Portuguese: Bufo-branco
Spanish: Búho nival Swedish: Fjälluggla
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For More Information...
Books and Monographs:
   Mikkola, H. 1983 Owls of Europe Poyser, Calton [598.71 MIK]
See Also:
All About Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Gough, G.A. et al. (1998) Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter
Wikipedia entry
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides.com
Find papers on Google Scholar
Find papers on Scirus

BTO blue divider
BirdWeb logo, click to go to BirdWeb BirdFacts home | BTO Home
Email: birdfacts@bto.org

These data should be cited as:
Robinson, R.A. (2005) BirdFacts: profiles of birds occurring in Britain & Ireland (v1.24, June 2009). BTO Research Report 407, BTO, Thetford (http://www.bto.org/birdfacts)

 

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