Description:

Large white owl with small eyes, rudimentary ear tufts normally not erect. Male almost entirely white, sometimes with narrow, sparse, pale grey or brown barring on back, wings and/or tail. Female noticeably larger, wings and tail more prominently barred blackish, but variable, sometimes almost male-like.

Distribution:

Possible vagrant in the winter to Gilgit-Baltistan, with no latest records. Usually in open country with rocks or low prominences, and sparse low vegetation and dwarf shrubs and lichen, meadows and poorly drained freshwater meadows, below 1500m.

Behavior:

Most active at dusk and dawn, but forages throughout day in summer. Hunts from perch, making low, often long flight to capture prey on ground; acute vision and hearing; also pursues birds in air. Lemmings and voles major food items, other prey taken according to availability, include other small mammals, birds, ducks, seabirds, occasionally fish, amphibians, crustaceans and beetles.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Snowy Owl in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Snowy Owl

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.