The Snowy Owl is well camouflaged in its usual snowy habitat. It lives in the Arctic (is also called the Arctic Owl)
throughout summer and ventures to northern Eurasia/America in the winter.
The white male Snowy Owl is ghostly in a churchyard at night - like all owls, it flies silently.
The female has speckled brown-grey markings on the body for ground camouflage (and juveniles have more black).
Until 2002, the Snowy Owl was classed as its own genus Nyctea scandiacus, but DNA analysis has proved
it to be closely related to the "horned" Eagle Owls in Bubo genus.
Female - showing furry feet and talons