The snowy owl is clearly gravitating toward open spaces. She is disgusted by any high vegetation. This is related to the way of hunting. The bird always hunts from the ground, settling on an elevated place. She observes the surroundings, looks out for prey, and when she sees the rodent, she flaps her wings heavily, flies up to him and clings to the doomed victim with her sharp claws. Small animals are swallowed whole. A large prey is torn to pieces and eaten. Wool and bones belch up in the form of small lumps. On the day a snowy owl eats at least 4 rodents to get enough. Hunt prefers in the early morning or evening hours.
In addition to rodents, it is fed by rabbits, ermines, hedgehogs, ducks and partridges. He also eats fish, and does not disdain to carrion. The bird never hunts near its nest. This is used by the same gulls. They nest very close to the owl and feel completely safe, since the bird of prey is very prudent. Already a kilometer away from the nest, she begins to drive away the predators, so they do not let God did not eat her chicks.
In the famine years the white owl leaves the lovely tundra in September-October, moving to the south in the forest-tundra and steppes. If the food is bad, then the bird flies even further to the south. It may even be in the middle zone of Russia or on the southern Canadian border. Steady migration towards the equator can stop only a sufficient number of small animals capable of satisfying its hunger. But in any case, in March-April the polar owl turns back and returns to its native land in order to lay eggs of a new generation of chicks already in May. In fertile years, if there is a lot of food, the bird may not leave the tundra on the eve of the cold weather. She hibernates near her native nest or chooses the slopes of the hills with a slight snow cover.
