Thursday, January 24, 2013

Snowy Owl

 

Animal You | Snowy Owl | This yellow eyes, black billed white bird is easily recognizable. Moreover, these birds between 1.6 to 3 kg (3.5 to 6.6 pounds) predominate. This is one of the largest species of owl in North America and on average the heaviest owl species. The male is almost pure white, but females and young birds have a little dark scallops are excluded young people mostly, and dark spots can even outweigh. Its plumage often strong feet with feathers, paint and make the Snowy Owl north for life the Arctic Circle dug well adapted. Snowy Owl calls are varied, but the alarm call is a barking, almost quacking Krek-Krek, also has a soft meow Pyee Pyee or PreK-PreK. This species of owl nests on the ground, building a scrape on top of a mountain or rock. Gravel bars and abandoned eagle nests may be used. The female scrapes a small space prior to spawning.


Both the male and the female defend the nest and their young from predators, sometimes disturbing screens. This powerful bird relies primarily on lemmings and other small rodents for food during the breeding season, but in times of low prey density or during the ptarmigan nesting period, they may change in favor of young grouse. They are opportunistic predators and prey can vary greatly, especially in the winter. They eat a variety of small mammals such as mice and rats, prairie deer, but get larger prey, often found on traplines for food. Some of the larger mammal prey includes rabbits, muskrats, marmots, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, prairie dogs, mice, moles, and entrapped furbearers. Prey Birds include ptarmigan, ducks, geese, shorebirds, pheasants, partridges, coots, grebes, gulls, birds and birds of prey, including other species of owls.


Snowy Owls, like many other birds, swallow their small prey whole. Biologists frequently examine these pellets, the amount and type of prey the birds have eaten determined. If you eat large prey into small pieces, pellets will not occur. During the breeding season, the owls regularly defend their nests against arctic foxes, ravens and rapid flight Jaegers and dogs, gray wolves and birds of prey animals. Males defend the nest guard near, while the female incubates the eggs and young larvae. Directly compete lemmings and other prey of predators, including Rough-legged hawks, eagles, falcons, hawks, falcons, Jaegers, gulls, glaucous, short eared owl, Eurasian eagle owls, ravens common, wolves, arctic foxes and stoats. Some species nest near Snowy owl nests, such as the snow goose seem incidental benefit from the protection of snowy owls, the competing predators drive out of the area. 

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