Baby Snowy Owls are white birds that have varying degrees of brown or black markings on their wings and bodies. This can give the bird a salty-pepper appearance. As they age, males become paler and whiter. The eyes are yellow.
The female snowy Owl sits on her eggs until the hatch. While she keeps her eggs safe and warm, the male feeds her. The eggs hatch after about a month. When babies hatch, they are covered with soft white down. The birds turn light brown as new feathers replace the old down.
Less than one month after hatching, the young leave their nest. The young owls are able to fly by the time they reach about a month and half, but their parents will continue to care for them for ten more weeks.
Pairs of snowy owls usually mate for the rest of their lives. In a ground nest, female snowy owls can lay up to 11 eggs per year. Snowy owls lay more eggs when there is enough food than when there is not.
The main food source for snowy owls is lemmings. Lemming populations fluctuate naturally. If there isn’t enough prey available to feed the baby owls then the adult pair may not lay any eggs until the food supply improves.
