snowy owl

American  

noun

• snowy owls
  plural

1. a diurnal, Arctic and subarctic owl, Nyctea scandiaca, having white plumage with dark brown markings.

---

snowy owl British  

noun

1. a large owl, Nyctea scandiaca, of tundra regions, having a white plumage flecked with brown

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• snowy owls
  plural

Etymology

Origin of snowy owl

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

snowy owl

Nobody is quite sure why a snowy owl, usually found in Arctic regions, decided to relocate to sunny Cypress, Calif. Everyone you talk to has a theory.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 18, 2023

The natural habitat of the snowy owl is the forbidding frozen wilderness of the high Arctic tundra.

From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2023

Swarms of bird fanciers have been flocking to a west Orange County neighborhood to ogle a snowy owl.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2022

Crowds of bird-watchers have been showing up regularly in an Orange County neighborhood to gawk at a snowy owl, a species normally found around the Arctic, Canada and several northern U.S. states.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 29, 2022

The only gesture he had made to the possibility of a journey was to shut his snowy owl, Hedwig, safely in her cage.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling