Snowy owls are mostly white with narrow, sparse brown bars and spots. Their golden coloured eyes are rather small for an owl and their toes and claws are thickly covered with feathers. Their dark coloured bills are short and strong and sharply pointed. They are among the largest North American owl species.

Snowy owls mainly eat mammals, ranging from small rodents to large hares. They are also known to eat birds ranging in size from small songbirds to medium-sized geese and lemmings. An adult owl may eat around three to five lemmings each day (1,600 per year).

In North America, snowy owls are found during the breeding season from the western Aleutians in Alaska to north eastern Manitoba (Churchill), northern Quebec and northern Labrador in Canada. In the winter, they can regularly be found in the northern United States. Sporadically they can be found as far south as central California as well as in Texas and Florida.

Unlike most other owl species, snowy owls hunt mainly in the daytime. Snowy owls are highly nomadic and their movements are tied to the abundance of their primary prey species, lemmings. They are known to aggressively defend their nests and will attack those that disturb their nests.